^JBHriPIIl  AID^©©^^35ID3  \ 


LETTERS 


ADDRESSED   TO 


THE    VRESBTTERIAJ^S 


CO'M  '■'VTS. 


5  t^ 


i.ETTEK  I.— Calumny  Refuted    5 
LFiTTER  11. — Missionary  and 

Bible  Societies    '^>l 
LETTER  III.— Of  Tresbytemn 

D.ictrine     .     .  ''55 
LETTER  IV.— Presbyterian 

Practice     .     *     83 


LETTER  v.— Tlie  same  sub 
ject  r.or  tinned 

L"ETTeB  VL— Of'  Compelkti- 
on  &.  Titles— 
Of  Worship^ 
The  Sabbath-- 
Of  Oaths—War  iJi 


BY  VINDEX 


Every  one  that  doeth  evil  hateth  the  Ught,  neither  cometii  to  the 
U^hf  '**»'f  Jii     ipi'ds  should  be  reproved.      Jons  iii.  20. 


ft 


PHILArtELPUi  f 


^^  Printed  arid  sold  by  Joseph  Rakestrnw,  No.  2^4; 
North  Tiiit     Street. 


'%AA  ^'^A  ^/V\ 'VXrv  "V^^ '%AA 'VX'X -^ 


»  ^'W>.^AM'X^'««^A«.  * 


■fi^il^',]^^r,!^P3?; 


it 


2:^  5::i  5:=^  i^  .£^  i:^.  "^2- 

OF    THE 


PRINCETON,   N.  J. 
SAMUEL    AGNE\V, 

OF     P H r LADE LPHI A  ,     PA. 


04^0. 


/h/c^iyi/cJ^y  /(!^r£^§^tr ' 


Cane,  Division -(|.L 

SJieJf\Sec^Jr"  ._i 


TRUTH  ADVOCATED: 


ADDRESSED  TO 


THIi  P13lIi^l&l.TE^lAK^. 


BY  VINDEX. 


fcvety  one  tliat  tloeth  evil  hateth  the  light,  neitlier  cometh  to  the 
light  lest  his  deeds  should  be  reproved.  .Tohn  iii.  20, 


PHILADELPHIA  : 

PRINTED  Br  JOSEPH  BAKESTBAW,  JTO.  254,  XOnTH  THIRD  STBEET. 

1822, 


IN  the  Christian  Repository,  a  paper  published  in  Wilming- 
ton, Delaware,  a  writer  under  the  signature  of  Paul,  has 
attacked  the  religious  society  of  Friends.  He  has  been  an- 
swered by  a  member  of  that  society,  under  the  title  of  Ami- 
cus. After  what  has  been  done  in  our  defence,  it  would 
seem  to  be  a  work  of  supererogation  to  add  any  thing 
further.  But  the  reader,  if  he  has  perused  those  publications* 
will  perceive  that  I  have  here  replied  to  charges,  which  Amicus 
from  their  multiplicity  has  been  obliged  to  pass  over  in  silence; 
and  when  I  have  taken  up  the  same  subjects  which  Amicus  has 
noticed,  I  have  treated  them  differently.  I  do  not  mean  by 
this  to  be  understood  as  depreciating  the  labours  of  that  writer. 
The  ability  and  temper  with  which  he  has  managed  his  side  of 
the  controversy,  against  a  very  unfair  antagonist,  will,  I  think, 
be  generally  acknowledged  :  I  do  not  intend,  therefore,  to 
occupy  his  ground.  Be  his  the  task  of  continuing  to  expose  the 
sophistry  of  the  author^  mine  to  unfold  the  character  of  the 
man:  and  whilst  Amicus  leaves  him  in  his  mask,  1  shall  un- 
cover him  and  present  him  before  the  public  as  a  Presbyterian 
minister. 

The  assault  made  by  this  writer,  being  supported  by  no  kind 
of  evidence,  yet  seasoned  by  the  coarsest  and  most  virulent 
abuse,  when  viewed  in  the  abstract,  calls  for  no  further  ani- 
madversion. But  I  have  been  induced  to  notice  it,  under  a 
belief  that  it  constitutes  an  entering  wedge,  prej»aratory  to  a 
more  extensive  field  of  operations,  before  which  all  opposition  to 
the  ambitious  views  of  a  hireling  priesthood^  is  to  be  prostrated. 
And  I  think  I  shall  be  able  to  present  to  the  impartial  reader, 
in  these  letters,  no  slender  evidence  that  this  belief  arises  nei- 
ther from  invidious  feelings,  nor  an  overweening  credulity. 

The  Author. 
Wilmington,  Del. 


CONTENTS. 


LETTERS  I.  &  n, 
CALUM^^V  REFUTED. 

LETTER  III. 
PRESBFTEEMJV  JJOCTRUVE. 

LETTERS  IV.  &  V. 
PRESBFTERMJy  PRACTICE. 


TRUTH  ADVOCATED,  &c. 


LETTER  I. 


Tantssne  animis  cmlestibiis  irx  ? 

Can  heaveiily  minds  such  anger  entertain  ? 

IT  is  now  nearly  two  centuries  since  the  people  called 
Quakers  first  appeared  in  England.  The  testimonies  which 
they  publicly  bore  against  a  corrupt  hireling  priesthood; 
against  oaths,  war,  and  other  legalized  but  anti-christian  prac- 
tices, often  brought  them  in  contact  with  the  priests  and  ma- 
gistrates of  that  and  other  countries,  where  they  attempted  to 
promulgate  their  doctrines.  A  cruel  persecution  was  thus 
excited  against  them,  which  continued  in  varied  degrees  of 
violence  for  more  than  half  a  century,  to  which  they  submitted 
with  great  patience  and  fortitude ;  but  without  yielding  one 
inch  of  ground,  or  commuting  one  article  of  their  faith,  to 
obtain  from  their  enemies  an  alleviation  of  their  sufferings. 
Hence,  there  exists  no  sect  in  Christendom  whose  principles 
have  been  more  frequently  attacked,  nor  more  ably  or  success- 
fully defended,  than  those  of  the  Quakers,  Like  the  unadul- 
terated steel,  their  doctrine  has  shone  the  brighter  by  attrition  ; 
and  although,  like  the  holy  Apostle,  they  have  had  to  contend 
with  wild  and  ferocious  beasts  in  the  shape  of  men,*  yet  they 
have  in  every  instance,  left  the  field  triumphant,  confirming 
the  truth  of  the  old  adage, 

JUagna  est  veritas  et  prevalebit. 
Trutli  is  great  and  will  prevail . 

Amongst  the  many  attacks,  originating  in  bigotry  and  priest- 
craft, and  levelled  at  dissenters  from  your  creed,  I  have  seen 
none  more  replete  with  falsities,  more  gross  in  calumny,  nor  in 
abuse  more  virulent,  than  that  contained  in  the  Christian  Re- 
pository, one  of  your  periodical  works,  published  in  this  place. 
Availing  himself  of  the  advantage  of  a  mask^  this  v  riter  had 

♦  If  the  reader  should  deem  this  expression  too  strong-,  let  him  read  the 
cruelties  committed  in  Boston  by  the  "  pilgrims." 


6 

cherished  more  than  a  hope,  that  if  he  should  not  succeed  in 
the  full  accomplishment  of  his  object,  that  of  prostrating  the 
opposition  of  the  Quakers  to  the  extension  of  clerical  influence 
and  power,  he  would  at  least  procure  to  himself  the  satisfaction 
of  arousing  the  prejudices  of  a  certain  class  against  them. 
And  he  foresaw,  should  he  be  exposed  as  a  defamer,  yet,  as  an 
individual,  he  would  escape,  personally,  public  indignation,  by 
having  written  under  a  borrowed  character. 

Every  impartial  reader,  I  feel  assured,  will  find  in  the  man- 
ner of  Paul's  assault,  a  sufficient  justification  for  bringing  him 
before  the  public  in  his  sable  dress.  When  a  writer,  under 
cover,  attacks  individual  character,  public  opinion  demands 
the  name  of  the  author.  Between  this  and  the  case  1  am 
treating,  there  are  many  points  of  strong  resemblance.  Paiti 
has  attempted,  by  falsehood  and  calumny,  (as  I  shall  abund- 
antly prove)  to  unchristianize  a  whole  religious  community, 
and  to  bring  odium  upon  them  from  all  quarters  ;  he  has,  more- 
over, in  a  manner  higldy  reprehensible,  alluded  to  certain 
individuals  of  that  society.  But  Paul  tells  us  that  he  is  so 
«*  conscious  of  the  purity  of  his  motives,"  and  of  the  **  justice 
of  his  cause,"  that  were  it  not  for  the  fear  of  being  reputed 
**  ostentatious,"  he  would  "  have  no  objection  to  subscribe  his 
name  in  fuW  to  his  numhers.  Now,  after  such  an  avowal, 
should  my  remarks  lead  to  a  developement,  he  certainly  will 
have  no  reason  to  complain. 

Believing,  therefore,  that  it  is  in  this  case,  of  no  little  im- 
portance to  the  cause  of  trtith,  to  identify  the  man,  whilst  ex- 
posing the  deformity  of  the  author^  you  cannot,  I  presume,  be 
ignorant  that  the  public  have  suspected  a  certain  minister  of 
one  of  your  congregations,  as  being  the  principal  source  of  that 
muddy  stream  which  has  so  long  polluted  the  columns  of  the 
Christian  Repository.  Without  entering  into  a  detail  of  evi- 
dence, I  think  I  have  some  reason  to  concur  with  public  senti- 
ment on  this  point ;  and  believing  that  many  of  you  feel  a  lively 
interest  in  the  success  of  every  attempt  to  put  down  opposition 
to  the  growth  of  a  homogeneous  hifiuence  in  these  United  States, 
I  therefore  address  to  you  these  letters. 

How  far  your  new  "  defender  of  the  faith"  has  succeeded  in 
realizing  the  fond  expectations,  which  in  the  onset  of  this  con- 
troversy, fired  his  zeal  and  spurred  him  forward — how  far  his 
efforts  will  tend  to  extend  the  «<  homogeneous  influence,"  time 
will  discover.  If  detailing  the  most  palpable  untruths,  and 
indulging  in  the  coarsest  strain  of  vituperation  against  a  re- 
spectable religious  society  ; — if,  in  short,  exhibiting  an  over- 
flowing effervescence  of  the  gall  of  bitterness — of  passions 
fitted  to  disturb  the  peace  and  harmony  of  civil  and  religious 


communities,  can  stamp  the  seal  of  a  gospel  commission, — con 
fer  honour,  and  exalt  character,  then  may  your  minister  retire 
from  the  contest  with  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience. 

I  now  proceed  to  state  the  grounds  of  these  strictures,  and 
if  J  should  fail  to  convince  you  of  their  justice,  the  cause  must 
be  sought  for  in  my  incapacity  to  unfold,  or  in  your  unwilling- 
ness to  admit,  the  ample  fund  of  evidence  which  lays  hefore  me. 

1  shall  quote  the  charges  preferred  against  the  Society  of 
Friends,  as  they  are  found  in  the  paper,  and  demonstrate  their 
falsity  by  extracts  from  such  of  our  writers  as  are  of  acknow- 
ledged merit ;  confining  myself'  to  such  books  as  your  minister 
has  repeatedly  told  us  he  had  read,  and  which  are  in  his  posses- 
sion. And,  although  I  am  deprived  of  an  important  advantage, 
by  thus  confining  myself  to  three  or  four,  when  I  might  refer 
to  fifty  volumes  ;  yet,  in  making  this  sacrifice  of  such  a  valua- 
ble mass  of  authority,  one  important  point  is  gained ;  your 
minister  is  thereby  excluded  from  putting  in  the  plea  ofignO' 
ranee, 

1  commence  with  his  charges  made  against  the  Society,  and 
grounded  on  their  alleged  views  of 

THE  SCRIPTURES. 

Charge  I.— «  Ton  undervalue  the  scriptures — take  from  them 
every  honorable  epithet,  such  as  the  gospel,  revelation,  word  of 
God,  law  and  testimony  ;  you  treat  them  as  a  half  inspired 
allegory — and  as  a  corrupted,  ill-authenticated,  falsely  render- 
edf  uncertain  piece  of  human  composition," — Christian  Reposi- 
tory, Nos.  40  and  46. 

REFUTATION. 

"  I  do  freely  concede  to  the  scriptures  whatsoever  they  say 
of  themselves,  which  the  Apostle  Paul  chiefly  mentions  in  two 
places :  *  Whatsoever  things  were  written  aforetime,  were 
written  for  our  learning,  that  we  through  patience  and  comfort 
of  the  scriptures,  might  have  hope.'  *  The  holy  scriptures  are 
able  to  make  wise  unto  salvation,  through  faith  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus.'  «  All  scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God.'" 
Barclay's  Apology,  p.  97.     Bare.  Conf.  of  Faith.  Art.  III. 

«  We  affirm  that  the  scriptures  give  a  full  and  ample  testimony 
to  all  the  principal  doctrines  of  the  christian  faith."  B.  Ap. 
p.  105. 

««  From  the  revelations  oHhe  spirit  of  God  to  the  saints  have 
proceeded  the  scriptures."     B.  Ap.  p.  81. 

«  Respecting  the  scriptures,  we  are  so  far  from  lessening  them, 
or  opposing  the  true  sense  of  them,  that  we  verily  believe,  and 
sincerely  assert,  that  the  holy  spirit,  in  what  degree  of  illumi- 


illation  soever  it  appears,  never  can  contradict  them.'''  PhippSy 
Original  and  Present  State  of  Man,  p.  il7. 

"  'J'lie  scriptures  were  written  by  inspiration,  and  must  be  in^ 
fallible.'''     Phipps,  p.  123. 

*<  We  have  sometimes  been  accused  of  allegorizing  away  the 
truths  of  the  cliristian  religion,  as  recorded  in  holy  writ :  it  is 
far,  very  far  from  our  intention  or  inclination.  We  never 
preach  a  Christ  within,  opposed  to,  or  derogating  from  a  Christ 
Tvithout."     Fothergill's  Sermons,  p.  133. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  it  may  be  added,  that  in  our  Disci- 
pline and  Queries,  these  records  are  styled  *«  the  holy  scrip- 
tures," and  by  the  authors  above  quoted,  they  are  called  the 
sacred  oracles  of  truth,  the  holy  scriptures,  holy  writ,  sacred 
records,  and  in  many  places  the  gospel.  Vid.  B.  Ap.  pp.  97, 
117,  182,  223.  Phipps,  pp.  98,  139,140.  Fothergill,  pp. 
101,  116. 

The  foregoing  extracts,  to  which  might  be  added  many  more 
of  like  import,  are  made  from  books  which  your  minister  has 
told  the  public  he  has  "  repeatedly  read  ;"  yet  he  asserts  that 
we  "  take  from  the  scriptures  every  honorable  epithet ;  as  reve^ 
lation,  gospel,  &c.  and  treat  them  as  n  falsely  rendered,  corrupt- 
ed, uncertain  piece  of  human  composition  /"  If  what  is  exhibited 
in  these  pages,  be  a  good  specimen  of  the  kind  of  <•  moral 
influence  exerted  in  society"  by  "  poor,  pious  young  men," 
w^hen  transformed  into  "  educated  ministers,"  I  think  they 
had  much  better  be  left  at  home  to  pursue  their  humble,  but 
honest  avocations ! 


.  Charge  II. — <'  Instead  of  trying  the  spirit  by  the  scriptures,  you 
try  the  scriptures  by  the  spirit.''     Chris.  Repos.  No.  6. 

REFUTATION. 

«  We  do  look  upon  the  scriptures  as  the  only  fit  outward  rule 
to  judge  of  controversies  among  christians;  and  that  whatso- 
ever doctrine  is  contrary  to  their  testimony,  may,  therefore,  justly 
be  rejected  as  false.  We  shall  also  be  very  willing  to  admit  it 
as  a  positive,  certain  maxim,  that  whatsoever  any  do,  pretend- 
ing to  the  spirit,  which  is  contrary  to  the  scriptures,  be  accounted 
and  reckoned  a  delusion  of  the  devil."     B.  Ap.  p.  100. 

«  Our  opposers  call  the  scripture  the  primary  rule.  We  allow 
it  to  be  the  primary  written  rule,  and  in  all  disputes  between 
them  and  us,  we  abide  by  its  decision,  according  to  our  under^ 
standing  of  the  sense  of  it."    Phipps,  p.  127. 

"  For  we  do  firmly  believe  that  there  is  no  other  gospel  or 
doctrine  to  be  preached,  but  that  which  was  delivered  by  the 


apostles,  and  do  freely  subserilie  to  that  saying — Let  him  who 
preachf^th  any  uther  .e;ospel  than  that  which  hath  been  already 
pr<'ached  by  the  apostles,  and  according  to  the  scriptures,  be 
accursed  J'     B.  Ap.  p.  105. 

"  So  we  distinguish  betwixt  a  revelation  of  a  new  gospel, 
and  n^'w  doctrines,  and  a  new  revelation  of  the  ^ood  oW  ,§"os- 
pel  and  doctrines  :  the  last  we  plead  for,  but  thejirst  we  utterly 
deny.  For  we  firmlv  believe  that  »  no  other  foundation  can  any 
man  lay  than  that  which  is  laid  already.'  "     ibid. 


Charge  III. — «  Tour  doctrine  leads  you  to  question  the  authen- 
ticity  and  correctness  of  our  copy  of  the  Bible." 

REFUTATION. 

Every  one  the  least  acquainted  with  biblical  history  knows^ 
that  the  correctness  of  the  present  translation  in  common  use, 
has  been  called  in  question  by  many  great  and  pious  men,  of 
almost  every  denomination ;  and  several  attempts  have  been 
made  to  introduce  a  new  translation. — The  attempt,  then,  to 
fix  a  reproach  on  this  account,  upon  the  Society  of  Friends, 
exclusively,  is,  in  the  highest  degree  unjust :  but  the  charge 
is.  as  applied  by  the  author,  substantially  false,  as  appears  by 
the  following  quotations. 

"  The  errors  which  may  be  supposed  by  the  injury  of  time, 
to  have  slipt  in,  are  not  such,  but  that  there  is  a  sufficient  clear 
testimony  left  to  all  the  essentials  of  the  Christian  faith."  B, 
Ap.  p.  too. 

**  We  never  compared  the  scriptures  to  a  mutilated  and  dim 
copy  ;  they  are  a  clear  and  perfect  copy  as  to  all  essentials  and 
necessaries  of  the  Christian  religion."     B.  Works,  p.  603. 

See  also  Barclay's  Catechism,  wherein  every  answer  is 
formed  out  of  quotations  from  ♦'  our  copy  of  the  Bible,"  with- 
out the  least  alteration — ^a  sufficient  and  ample  evidence,  if 
there  was  no  other,  how  highly  we  esteem  those  writings  ;  all 
our  doctrines  being  either  founded  on,  or  entirely  agreeing 
with  them,  in  every  important  point,  according  to  the  sense 
which  we  have  of  their  import. 


10 

Charge  IV.— «  Vou  exclude  the  Sacred  volume  from  your  places 
of  worship — qiiote  it  as  you  would  any  other  authentic  /tis- 
toryi'*  &c.     No.  40. 

REFUTATION. 

In  the  foregoing  charge  we  are  said  to  question  the  authen- 
ticity of  the  Bible  ;  but  here  the  reader  is  told  that  we  quote 
it  as  **  authentic^' !  and  if  we  quote  it  in  our  places  of  worship, 
how  can  we  be  said  to  exclude  it  ?  It  is  true  we  do  not  carry 
the  book  to  our  meetings,  as  is  the  practice  with  others; 
but  passages  from  it  are  very  often  quoted,  not  as  any  other 
<*  authentic  history,"  but  in  a  weighty  and  impressive  man- 
ner, to  illustrate  and  confirm  some  point  of  doctrine  ;  to  raise 
the  drooping  spirits  by  its  blessed  promises,  or  to  awaken  the 
careless  by  its  awful  annunciations. — Thus,  by  referring  to 
Fothergill's  Sermons,  the  reader  will  find  no  less  than  thirty- 
nine  passages  of  sacred  writ,  impressively  introduced  into  one 
discourse ;  yet  with  this  book  in  his  hand,  your  minister  brings 
this  charge  against  us !  What  then  do  we  exclude  ?  The 
paper,  ink  and  binding  only.  I  appeal  to  all  who  are  in  the 
liabit  of  attending  the  meetings  of  the  Quakers,  if  their  com- 
munications are  not  replete  with  Scripture  passages^  quoted  in 
such  a  weighty  and  reverent  manner,  and  so  strikingly  adapt- 
ed to  the  occasion,  as  is  well  calculated  to  infuse  a  high  respect 
and  veneration  in  the  hearers,  for  those  sacred  records :  and 
all  will  bear  me  witness,  to  what  miserable  sophistry,  to  what 
ignoble  means,  this  invidious  author  descends^  in  order  to 
Yilify  and  cast  an  odium  upon  this  people. 


Charge  V. — ''Four  dortrine  leads  yo%i  to  neglect  the  Scriptures,*^ 
Sfc.  "  You  make  little  use  of  the  Bible  further  than  it  suits 
your  purpose"    Nos.  42,  44. 

REFUTATION. 

**  They  (the  Quakers)  give  such  preference  to  the  Scriptures 
above  all  other  writings,  that  they  strictly  press  the  frequent 
reading  of  them,  and  call  for  answers  from  each  monthly  meet- 

*  Your  minister  says  in  No.  48,  "  I  receive  the  Bible,  therefore,  as  au- 
thentic, as  I  receive  the  Works  of  Barclay  or  of  Penn,  not  by  *  immediate  reve- 
lation,' but  by  atrain  of  historical  evidence." 

Now  as  this  writer  ranks  his  faith  in  the  Scriptures  on  no  higher  ground  than 
"  a  train  of  historical  evidence,"  I  presume  he  must,  to  be  consistent,  quote  it 
as  he  would  the  "Works  of  Barclay  or  of  Penn,"  or  "  any  other  authentic 
history.  Here  he  turns  his  back  on  hts  own  creed.  Vid.  ch.  1.  5  &  6  of  the 
Presb.  Conf,  of  Faith. 


11 

iiig,  at  every  quarterly  meeting  throughout  the  society,  and  at 
the  general  yearly  meeting  in  London,  from  every  particular 
quarterly  meeting,  *  whether  the  HoJy  Scriptures  are  constantly 
read  in  their  families  or  not.'  "     Phipps,  p.  155. 

This  practice  still  maintains  throughout  the  society,  and 
however  the  different  yearly  meetings  on  this  continent  may 
differ  in  minor  points  of  discipline,  (for  they  are  independent 
of  each  other,)  yet  on  this  subject  their  practice  is  constant  and 
Uniform.     See  the  printed  Discipline. 

To  the  above,  respecting  the  Scriptures,  I  may  add, 

1.  That  we  do  not  give  to  them  the  title  of  "  the  word  of 
God,"  because  "  the  word  of  God  was  made  flesh"  (John  i. 
and  1st) — came  to  Shemaiah,  to  Nathan,  to  John  in  the  wilder- 
ness— mightily  grew  and  prevailed  (Acts,  xix.20)— is  called  the 
sword  of  the  spirit  (Eph*  vi.  17.)— is  quick  and  powerful  (Heb. 
iv.  12.)— ^By  it  the  worlds  were  framed  (Heb.  xi.  3.) — By  it  the 
heavens  were  of  old.  (2  Peter  iii.  5) — It  abideth  in  man.  (1  John 
ii.  14.) — And  he  who  sat  on  the  white  horse,  in  the  revelations, 
was  called  <'  the  word  of  God."*  Now,  as  none  of  these 
things  can  be  aflirmed  of  the  sacred  writings,  we  give  and  apply 
this  title  exclusively  to  Christ. 

2.  That  although  we  do  not  withhold  from  the  Scripture  the 
appellation  of  «<  gospel,"  as  your  minister  has  falsely  asserted, 
yet  we  do  believe  that  this  term  more  properly  belongs  to  the 
universal  and  saving  grace  or  spirit  of  God.  Thus  the  gospel 
is  called  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation — is  said  to  have  been 
preached  in  every  creature  ;  and  rpeached  to  Abraham  ;  (Gal. 
iii.  8.)  none  of  which  can  be  affirmed  of  the  outward  gospel. 
(Vid.  Barclay^  p.  182.) 

3.  We  do  not  hold  them  to  be  the  solt,  primary^  and  universai 
director  in  religious  faith  and  practice  ;  for 

"  1.  They  are  not  the  sole  director,  liecause  the  spirit  of  God 
in  the  heart  and  conscience  of  man  is  also  an  undeniable 
director. 

«  2.  They  are  not  the  primary  director,  because  the  illumina- 
tion of  the  holy  Spirit  that  gave  them  forth,  is  requisite  to  open 
the  true  sense  of  them.  The  Spirit  also  from  which  the  Scrip- 
tures came,  is  original  and  therefore  primary  to  them  ;  and  as 
the  Spirit  only  can  open  its  own  ti'ue  sense  iiicludtd  in  them, 
they  are  secondary  to  the  Spirit,  as  an  instrument  in  its  hand. 

«  3.  They  are  not  the  universal  director  becausfi  it  is  not 
probable  that  one  in  ten,  if  one  in  twenty  of  mankind,  have 

♦  By  referring  to  the  New  Testament,  the  reader  will  find  numerous  other 
passages,  in  confirmation  of  the  position,  that  the  "  word  of  God"  applies  to 
that  divine  principle,  spirit,  power,  or  Logos,  as  the  prime  author  and  dictator 
of  the  Scriptures,  and  not  the  Scriptures  themselves. 


12 

ever  had  the  opportunity  of  possessing  them.  Hence  we  esteem 
them  the  secondary  rule  or  guide  of  Christians,  which  being 
divinely  communicated  for  the  use  of  all  to  whom  they  may 
come  ;  and  also  being  intrinsically  superior  in  excell'  nee  to  all 
other  writings,  we  prefer  them  above  all  others,  and  as  thank- 
fully accept  and  as  comfortably  use  them,  as  any  people  upon 
earth  ;  verily  believing  with  the  holy  apostle,  •  that  they  were 
written  for  our  learning,  that  we  through  patience  and  comfort 
of  the  Scriptures,  might  have  hope.'  But  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
requisite  to  the  right  use  of  them,  (see  your  own  Confession  of 
Faith)  as  the  agent  to  the  instrument ;  and  what  is  an  instru- 
ment without  a  hand  to  guide  and  enforce  it?  The  Scriptures 
themselves  abundantly  testify,  there  is  something  superior  to 
them,  which  all  ought  to  look  for  and  attend  unto ;  i.  e.  the 
Supreme  Legislator  of  men,  and  prime  author  of  the  sacred 
writings  ;  and  by  whose  light  and  power  theyare  made  instru- 
mentally  useful  and  adequate  to  the  purposes  intended  by  them. 
Like  a  good  sun-dial,  they  are  true  and  perfect  in  their  kind, 
i.  e.  as  writings  ;  but  respecting  the  parts  differently  understood, 
they  may  justly  bear  the  same  motto  with  the  dial,  non  sine 
Lumine:  for  as  the  dial  without  the  cast  of  the  sun-beams  has 
not  its  proper  use  to  tell  the  time  of  the  day,  neither  doth  the 
ambiguous  text  answer  its  true  end,  infallibly  to  communicate 
the  mind  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  different  understandings,  except 
the  luminous  beams  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  discover  it  to 
the  attentive  mind." — Vid.  Phipps,  p.  126. 

Notwithstanding  that  you,  as  well  as  others,  have  east  much 
obloquy  upon  the  Quakers,  for  denying  that  the  Scriptures  are 
the  only  and  primary  rule  of  faith  and  practice  ;  yet  in  chap. 
1  and  5  of  the  Confession  of  Faith,  we  find  the  same  opinion 
very  clearly  and  fully  expressed  as  follows : 

«  Our  full  persuasion  and  assurance  of  the  infallible  truth 
and  divine  authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  is  from  the  inward 
work  of  the  holy  spirit  bearing  witness,  by  and  with  the  word  in 
our  hearts" 

Now,  I  ask,  how  can  that  which  does  not  convey  to  the  mind 
a  *'  full  assurance  and  persuasion  of  its  truth,"  be  a  sivfficieniy 
primary,  and  adequate  rule  ?  And  is  not  this  holy  Spirit,  which 
you  thus  acknowledge  to  be  absolutely  necessary  to  open  and 
explain  the  true  meaning  of  these  w  ritings,  to  be  esteemed  pri- 
mary to  them  ? — A  certain  master  orders  his  servant  to  write  a 
letter  of  instructions  to  his  people,  who  after  having  read  it, 
are  not  fully  assured  either  of  its  true  meaning,  «*  truth,"  or 
«  authority  i"  would  you  esteem  it  then  an  adequate  and  suffi- 
cient rule  for  these  people  to  act  upon  ?— You  have  declared 


13 

above  that  it  is  not.  Being  thus  uncertain  of  the  master's  will, 
they  apply  to  him  for  further  explanations  :  (and  you,  in  like 
manner,  apply  to  the  master  by  prayer  to  open  the  Scriptures 
to  you)  which,  therefore,  ought  in  this  case  to  be  taken  as  pri- 
mary and  adequate,  the  master  or  the  letter  which  he  had  dic- 
tated ?  in  your  controversial  writings,  you  assert  that  this  let- 
ter is  primary  and  adequate,  but  in  your  confession  and  in  your 
practice,  you  accept  it  as  secondary  only.  How  is  this  double- 
dealing  and  contradiction  to  be  explained  ? 

**  We  distinguish,'*  says  Barclay,  *' betwixt  a  revelation  of 
a  new  gospel  and  new  doctrines,  and  a  new  revelation  of  the 
good  old  gospel  and  doctrine^  the  last  we  plead  for,  but  thejirst 
we  utterly  deny  ;  for  we  firmly  believe,  that  *<  no  other  founda- 
tion can  any  man  lay,  than  that  wiiich  is  laid  already."  p.  105. 

In  your  Confession  of  Faith  above  quoted,  you,  in  like  man- 
ner, plead  for  this  new  revelation  of  the  "  good  old  gospel  and 
doctrines,''  as  necessary  to  give  «*  a  full  assurance  and  persua- 
sion of  the  infallible  truth  and  divine  authority  thereof."  Can 
you  reconcile  this  with  your  constant  declarations  that  revela- 
tion has  now  ceased  ? 

I  have  thus,  I  think,  sufficiently  proved,  that  your  doctrine 
with  respect  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  is  ct)ntradictory  in  itself: 
and  by  the  foregoing  quotations  from  Barclay  and  Phipps,  it  is 
rendered  manifest  that  the  charges  of  your  minister  against  the 
Quakers,  on  this  subject^  are  not  lesis  invidious  than  destitute- 
of  truth. 


INTERNAL  LIGHT. 

Your  minister  labors  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  his  readers 
the  false  idea,  that  the  doctrine  of  m^ernaHi^/if,  as  held  by  the 
Quakers,  has  had  its  origin  in,  and  is  almost  peculiar  to  that 
people  5  hence  he  says, 

Charge  VI. — "  We  oppose  what  you  call  internal  light,  as  a 
pretender^  impostor,  and  usurper^  whom  your  Society  and  others 
have  set  up  in  opposition  to  the  Spirit."    No.  44. 

REFUTATION. 

The  doctrine  of  internal  light  is  as  old  as  the  Bible,  and  il 
the  reader  will  refer  to  Cruden's  Concordance,  he  will  find 
this  <'  impostor'*  referred  to  in  that  volume,  in  nearly  one  hun- 
dred places,  and  described  as  a  universal,  divine,  internal 
saving  principle.    I  will  quote  a  few  passages  .— 


14: 

'•  The  Lord  is  my  liejlit  and  my  salvation.— Light  is  sown  fot* 
the  righteous. — God  is  the  Lord  who  has  sh'  wed  us  light. — If 
tliey  speak  not  according  to  this  word,  it  is  because  there  is  no 
light  in  them. — The  Lord  shall  be  to  thee  an  everlasting  light. 
Light  and  understanding  was  found  in  Daniel.— In  him  was 
life  and  tlie  life  was  the  light  of  men — that  was  the  true  light, 
which  lighteneth  etJcr^  man.— Every  one  that  doeth  evil  hateth 
the  light — but  he  that  doeth  truth  cometh  to  the  light— he  that 
followeth  me  shall  have  the  light  of  life. — He  stumbleth  because 
there  is  no  light  in  him. — While  ye  have  the  light,  believe  in 
the. light. — He  who  commanded  the  light  to  shine  out  of  dark- 
ness, hath  shined  in  our  hearts. — All  things  that  are  reproved, 
are  made  manifest  by  the  light. — Who  called  you  into  his  mar- 
vellous light. — To  which  ye  do  well  to  take  heed  as  to  a  light 
shining  in  a  dark  place. — God  is  light." 

The  ftdlowing  quotation  will  show  what  the  Quakers  under- 
stand by  this  light : 

** By  this  seed,  grace,  and  word  of  God,  ajidlight  wherewith 
we  say  every  one  is  enlightened,  and  hath  a  measure  of  it, 
which  strives  with  him  in  order  to  save  him,  we  understand,  a 
spiritual,  heavenly,  and  invisible  principle,  in  which  God,  as 
Father,  Son,  and  Spirit  dwells  ;  a  measure  of  which  divine  and 
glorious  life  is  in  all  men  as  a  seed,  which,  of  its  own  nature, 
draws,  invites,  and  inclines  to  God.  It  is  styled  in  Scripture, 
light,  grace,  a  measure  of  the  Spirit,  the  word  of  God,  a  talent, 
a  little  leaven,  the  gospel  preached  in  every  creature,  the  Com- 
forter, the  Spirit  of  truth,  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  sent  of  the  Fa- 
ther in  the  name  of  Christ."   B.  Apology,  pp.  146,  1 61, 1 52,  54. 

The  reader  will  perceive  by  this  quotation,  that  the  Quakers 
consider  internal  light,  as  only  another  name  for  the  grace  of 
God.  the  Spirit,  the  Comforter,  the  Holy  Ghost.  Where  may 
we  expect  to  find  limits  to  our  accuser's  aberrations  from 
truth  and  fair  dealing,  when,  with  Barclay  before  him,  he  as- 
serts, that  internal  light,  as  held  by  the  Quakers,  *'  is  a  pre- 
tender, impostor  and  usurper,  which  they  have  set  up  in  opposition 
to  ih^  Spirit**  1 1 

Notwithstanding  the  war  which  you  are  waging  against  this 
doctrine  o^  internal  light,  yet  we  find  an  open  avowal  of  it  in 
your  Confession  of  Faith,  in  the  following  words  : "  We  ac- 
knowledge the  inward  illumination  of  the  Spirit  of  God  to  be 
necessary  for  the  saving  understanding  of  such  things  as  are 
revealed  in  the  word"*  /  And  your  minister  himself,  after 
abusing  the  Quakers  with  his  usual  liberality,  for  maintaining^ 

*  Ch»p.  i.  * 


15 


this  doctrine,  both  ancient  and  new,  of  internal  tight,  comes  to 
this  confession  at  last :  "  That  there  is  such  a  thing  as  internal 
liglit,  has  never  been  denied  by  us."*  I 


The  next  subjects  on  which  your  minister  has  rendered  him 
self  conspicuous  for  his  imputations,  are  the  evil  of  sin,  and  the 
divinity  and  atonement  of  Christ. 

1.  THE  EVIL  OF  SIN. 

Charge  VII.— »*  Vou  depreciate  the  evil  of  sin — you  reject  the  doc- 
trine of  total  depravity,  Ji  man  may  read  one  thousand  pages 
of  your  writings,  attend  your  meetings  for  years,  he  will  hear 
little  of  the  infinite  evil  of  sin,"  ^c. 

REFUTATION. 

"We  that  were  lost  in  Adam,  plunged  into  the  bitter  and 
corrupt  seed,  unable  of  ourselves  to  do  any  good  thing,  but 
naturally  joined  and  united  to  evil,  forward  and  propense  to  all 
iniquity  ;  servants  and  slaves  to  the  power  and  spirit  of  dark- 
ness," &c.     B.  Ap.  p.  218. 

**  All  Adam*8  posterity,  or  mankind,  both  Jews  and  Gentiles, 
as  to  the  first  Adam,  or  earthly  man,  is  fallen,  degenerated,  and 
dead ;  subject  unto  the  power,  nature  and  seed  of  the  serpent, 
which  he  soweth  in  men*8  hearts,  while  they  abide  in  this  na- 
tural and  corrupted  state  ;  from  whence  it  comes  that  not  only 
their  words  and  deeds,  but  all  their  imaginations  are  evil  per- 
petually in  the  sight  of  God.  Man,  therefore,  as  he  is  in  this 
state,  can  know  nothing  aright.  Hence  are  rejected  the  Socinian 
and  Pelagian  errors,  in  exalting  a  natural  light."  Vid.  Bar- 
clay from  page  108  to  122. 

"  In  this  situation,  commonly  called  the  state  of  nature,  we  arc 
both  unfit  for  and  unable  to  enter  the  Heavenly  kingdom, 
which  admits  of  nothing  sinful  or  unclean.  It  is  therefore  ab- 
solutely requisite  that  man  should  be  made  holy  in  order  to  be 
happy.  If  pollution  can  cleanse  itself,  if  evil  can  produce 
good,  if  death  can  bring  forth  life ;  man  thus  corrupted,  debili- 
tated and  deadened,  may  disengage,  reform,  quicken,  and  re- 
store himself.  But  it  is  not  in  the  power  of  man,  as  such,  to 
extricate  himself  from  the  power  of  sin  and  death.  Yet,  as 
impurity  is  the  bar,  it  must  be  removed  ;  as  sin  separates  man 
from  his  maker,  man  must  be  separated  from  sin,  or  he  cannot 
be  reconciled  and  united  to  him."    Phipps,  p.  20. 

♦  Christ.  Repos.  No.  S8. 


16 

»•  It  is  an  endless  commandment,  and  can  never  be  abrogated, 
tiiat  the  soul  that  sins  it  shall  die,  and  it  remains  over  the  heads 
of  all  mankind,  who  yield  themselves  to  present  pleasures,  and 
give  up  their  minds  to  follow  after  lying  vanities  :  but  I  would 
caution  these  not  to  be  deceived,  for  God  is  not  mocked.**  Foth. 
p.  172. 

"  The  righteous  God  has  fixed  as  an  invariable  decision,  that 
if  ive  sow  to  the  Jlesh,  we  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  corruption." 
Foth.  p.  176. 

I  think  the  reader  wiU  excuse  me  from  making  further  quo- 
tations on  this  point.  If  he  will  consult  the  above  three  vo- 
lumes, he  will  find  something  in  almost  every  page,  setting  forth 
the  evil  of  sin. 

2.  THE  DIVINITY  AND  ATONEMENT  OF  CHRIST. 
Charge  VHI. — "  Yon  depreciate  the  valne  of  the  atonement. 
The  God  you  worship  is  not  the  God  of  Israel,  but  the  idol  of  the 
deist,  dressed  up  with  a  few  christian  features.  After  hearing 
your  preachers,  reading  ijour  books,  conversing  with  your 
people,  and  observing  your  conduct  for  many  years,  I  do  sin- 
cerely believe,  as  I  kvflw  the  greatest  and  best  men  in  our  couU' 
try  believe,  that  Friendism  is  a  specious  kind  of  infidelity,  a 
spurious  Christianity,  a  graft  of  deism  on  the  gospel  stock. 
You  reduce  the  bea^itiful  system  of  Christ  and  his  apostles  to 
something  little  differing  from  that  of  Socrates  and  Cicero, — 
Nos.  4<3,  36,  42. 

REFUTATION. 
<«  We  consider  our  redemption  in  a  two-fold  respect.  1st, 
rhat  performed  by  Christ  in  his  crucified  body  without  us,  by 
which,  as  we  stand  in  the  fall,  we  are  put  in  a  capacity  of  sal- 
vation, and  have  conveyed  unto  us  a  measure  of  that  power, 
virtue,  spirit,  life  and  grace  that  was  in  Christ  Jesus,  which, 
as  the  free  gift  of  God  is  able  to  counterbalance,  overcome  and 
root  out  the  evil  seed,  wherewith  we  are  naturally,  as  in  the 
fall,  leavened.  The  2d,  is  that  whereby  we  witness  and  know 
this  pure  and  perfect  redemption  in  ourselves,  purifying,  cleans- 
ing, and  redeeming  us  from  the  power  of  corruption,  and  bring- 
ing us  into  unity,  favour,  and  friendship  with  God. 

We  are  so  far  reconciled  to  God  by  the  death  of  his  Son 
while  enemies,  that  we  are  put  into  a  capacity  of  salvation, 
liaving  the  glad  tidings  of  the  gospel  of  peace  offered  unto  us, 
and  God  is  reconciled  unto  us  in  Christ,  calls  and  invites  us  to 
himself,  in  whjeh  respect  we  understood  these  scriptures  : 
«  He  slew  the  enmity  in  himself.  He  loved  us  first ;  seeing  us 
in  our  blood,  he  said  unto  us,  live.     He  who  did  not  sin  his  own 


17 

self,  bare  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  tlie  tree  ;  and  he  died  for 
our  sins,  the  just  for  the  unjust."     B.  Ap.  p.  218. 

"  Christ  is  the  eternal  word.  No  creature  hath  access  to  God 
but  by  him.  He  is  the  mediator.  He  is  both  God  and  man. 
By  his  sacrifice  we  have  remission  of  sins.  By  his  life,  death 
and  sufferings,  he  hath  opened  a  way  for  reconciliation.  His 
obedience,  righteousness,  death  and  sufferings,  are  ours."  B. 
Ap.  pp.  40,  41,  42,  155,  197,  198,  217,  220,  240,  241,  242.  See 
the  index  to  the  Apology,  where  under  the  word  Redemption^ 
we  are  referred  to  fifty  different  places  in  the  work. 

«  We  believe  the  remission  of  sins  which  any  partake  of,  is 
only  in  and  by  virtue  of  that  most  satisfactory  sacrifice,  and 
no  otherwise."    B.  Ap.  p.  155. 

"  Perfect  redemption  consists,  first,  in  paying  the  price  of  ran- 
som ;  and  second,  in  bringing  out  of  bondage  and  setting  the 
prisoner  at  liberty.  Our  Saviour  paid  the  first  by  his  suffering 
and  sacrifice,  and  he  performs  the  last,  by  the  effectual  opera- 
tion of  his  spirit  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  re«eive  him,  and 
resign  wholly  to  him."     Phipps,  p.  20. 

"  God  out  of  his  infinite  love,  who  delighteth  not  in  the  death 
of  a  sinner,  but  that  all  should  live  and  be  saved,  hatii  so  loved 
the  world,  that  he  hath  given  his  only  son  a  light,  that  whoso- 
ever believeth  in  him  shall  be  saved.  Nor  is  this  liglit  lesi 
universal  than  the  seed  of  sin,  being  the  purchase  of  his  death, 
<  who  tasted  death  for  every  man  :'  '  For  as  in  Adam  all  die, 
so  in  Christ  all  shall  be  made  alive.'  "      B.  Ap.  p.  122. 

"This  doctrine  (the  offer  of  universal  redemption)  is  abund- 
antly confirmed  by  that  of  the  apostle  :  '  and  if  any  man  sin. 
Me  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the  righte- 
ous, and  he  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins,  and  not  for  ours 
only,  but  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  rvorld.'  "     B.  Ap.  p.  137. 

I  refer  the  reader  to  the  Apology,  where  he  will  find  the  uni- 
versal light  or  grace  of  God,  as  manifested  througli  Jesus 
Christ,  and  indeed  the  whole  plan  of  redemption  as  revealed  in 
Scripture,  and  as  believed  on  by  the  Quakers,  fully  treated  of 
from  page  123  to  212,  almost  one  hundred  pages  being  devoted 
to  this  grand  corner  stone  of  the  Christian  system.  This,  added 
to  what  I  have  quoted  from  him  on  the  subject,  shows  the  ample, 
clear,  and  explicit  manner  in  which  he  has  opened  our  views  of 
tlie  gospel  plan  of  salvation.  Yet,  notwithstanding  all  this, 
your  minister  without  respect  to  truth  or  candour,  and  yielding 
to  his  propensity  for  calumny,  asserts  with  shameless  effron- 
tery, that  <*  on  the  great  doctrine  of  the  Atonement,  Bar- 
clay has  observed  a  silence  irreconcilable  with  christian  frankness 
and  honest  dealing.''^    ('Yid.  Rcpos.  vol.  II.  No.  9.)     1  will  close 


16 

this  article  by  making  a  few  quotations  from  Fothergill's 
Sermons 

«*  I  am  no  Arian,  far  from  it.  I  believe  in  the  clear  emphatic 
testimonies  laid  down  in  Holy  Writ,  '  that  Christ  was  more 
than  a  prophet.'  i  repeat  m.v  belief,  that  he  suffered,  died, 
ascended,  and  is  now  come  » the  second  time  without  sin  unto 
salvation,  in  order  to  reconeile  the  world  unto  himself.'  How- 
ever this  doctrine  may  relish  with  some,  1  am  convinced  he 
died  for  all,  that  all  should  be  saved,  that  through  him  we 
might  be  justified  in  the  sight  of  God;  that  we  might  put  on 
the  Lord  Jesus,  with  all  his  divine  affections.  That  they  which 
live  »  should  not  henceforth  live  to  themselves,  but  to  him  who 
died  for  them  and  rose  again.'  That  there  may  be  an  effectual 
redemption,  a  thorough  change ;  not  the  imputation  of  righte- 
ousness without  works,  but  a  real  substantial  righteousness,  in 
h^-art  and  life,  which  may  operate  upon  and  regulate  the  mind 
and  will,  and  lead  us  to  a  conformity  to  his  Divine  nature  ;  not  a 
righteousness  imputed  to  us  from  what  Christ  did  and  suffered 
without  uSf  but  a  righteousness  raised  hijhim  wif/iiniis, through 
our  surrendering  ourselves  to  his  government,  and  yielding 
entire  submission  to  his  heart-cleansing,  refining  power." 
Page  36. 

*'  Christ  is  made  unto  us  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctifica-« 
tion  and  redemption."     Page  37. 

*»  By  virtue  of  that  Holy  sacrifice  the  remission  of  sins  is 
gained.  We  believe  that  he  who  was  crucified,  dead  and  bu- 
ried, likewise  triumphed  over  the  grave,  and  now  sitteth  at  the 
right  hand  of  God,  in  a  glorified  body,  to  make  intercession 
for  man."  Page  o5. 

I  have  not  room,  nor  do  I  think  it  necessary  to  make  further 
quotations  on  this  head.  If  any  reader  should  still  doubt,  let 
him  refer  to  the  originals  ;  let  him  read  Penn,  Story,  White- 
head, Boroughs,  Sewel,  Gough,  and  twenty  other  writers  whom 
I  (  )uld  name,  and  which  he  will  find  in  *«  Friends'  library  of 
Wilmington  ;"  he  will  then  be  convinced  of  the  groundless  na- 
ture, both  of  the  foregoing  charges,  and  of  the  following  as- 
sertions : 

*  *'  On  the  all  important  topics  of  the  character  of  God,  the  na- 
ture and  offices  of  Christ,  the  work  of  the  spirit,  the  way  of  salva- 
tion, and  in  general,  the  grand  essentials  of  Christianity,  you  hide 
•yourselves  in  a  cloud  of  mysticism,  leaving  us  to  guess  at  your 

*  See  the  index  to  Bare.  Ap.  wherein  references  are  made  to  the  body  of 
the  work  as  follows .-  19  references  respecting  God  ;  37  on  Christ ;  41  on  the 
Spirit ;  50  on  Redemption  ;  36  on  the  Scriptures ;  and  on  Sin,  are  re- 
ferences under  different  heads,  to  nearly  half  the  pages  in  the  book.  See 
also  Phipps,  from  page  1  to  83. 


19 

iloctrines.—'Ji  man  may  read  one  thousand  pages  ofyoiir  writings^ 
attend  your  nudingsjor  years,  he  will  hear  little  of  the  iajinite  evil 
of  .I?',  the  holiness  aiid  justice  of  God,  the  need  of  a  vicarious 
atonement,  the  total  depravity  of  the  natural  heart,  the  import- 
ance of  the  Scriptures,  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  and  future,  ever- 
lasting punishment.  These  are  topics  seldom  or  never  touched." 
Christ.  Repos.  No.  32. 


Charge  IX. — «  Fou  reject  the  Scriptural  doctrine  of  the  Re- 
surrection."     No.  42. 

REFUTATION. 

"  There  shall  be  a  resurrection  of  the  dead,  both  of  the  just  and 
the  unjust.  They  that  have  done  good  unto  the  resurrection  of 
life,  and  they  that  have  done  evil  unto  the  resurrection  of  dam- 
nation Flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God ; 
neither  doth  corruption  inherit  incorruption  ;  nor  is  that  body 
sown  that  shall  be,  but  God  giveth  it  a  body  as  it  hath  pleased 
him.  It  is  sown  in  corruption,  it  is  raised  in  incorruption  ;  it  is 
sown  in  weakness,  it  is  raised  in  power  :  it  is  sown  a  natural 
body,  it  is  raised  a  spiritual  body."  Bare.  Conf.  of  Faith. 
Article  XXIII. 


Chakge  X. — "  Fou  all  agree  in  fixing  a  limit  to  the  miseries 
of  the  wicked  in  another  world.  I  never  yet  saw  or  heard  a 
sentiment  in  your  books,  which  implied  your  belief  in  eternal 
condemnation.  Fou  reject  everlasting  punishment."  Ch.  Repos. 
Nos.  44,  46. 

REFUTATION. 

There  will  not  be  found  one  single  expression,  in  the  writings 
of  Barclay,  Phipps,  Fothergill,  or  in  any  of  our  approved  wri- 
ters, tending  in  the  least  to  support  this  charge.  To  this,  which 
is  of  itself  an  ample  refutation,  I  will  add  the  following  posi- 
tive testimonies  : 

"  To  those  who  by  patient  continuing  in  well  doing  have 
sought  the  glory  of  God,  their  own  salvation  and  the  good  of 
others,  immortality  and  eternal  life  :  but  to  those  who  have  con- 
tinned  in  disobedience  and  rebellicm  against  G.id,  tribulation, 
and  anguish,  both  inexpressible  and  interminable."  Phipps, 
page  89. 


so 

i'lt  is  manifest  the  death  denounced  in  Ezekiel  xviii.  33.  is 
not  the  common  death  of  the  body  ;  for  in  that  respect  one  event 
happcneth  to  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  but  that  state  of 
everlasting  infelicityf  peculiar  to  those  who  go  out  of  time  into 
eternity,  without  repentance  and  regeneration."  Phipps,  p.  105. 

"  Sucli  as  go  no  further  than  the  outward  knowledge  of 
Christ  shall  never  inherit  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  B.  Ap.  p.  189. 

"  I  have  beheld,  on  tlie  other  hand,  the  habitations  of  splen- 
dour exhibit  a  mournful  scene  of  distress — no  hope  of  future 
happiness  afforded  to  the  possessor  !  But  on  the  contrary,  a 
gloomy  prospect  of  despair  of  an  eternal  state  of  misery.'^  Foth. 
page  66. 

Charge  XI, — "  You  make  every  thing  of  conscience  :  set  it  up 
as  an  infallible  standard,   an  unerring  counsellor.'''' 

Charge  XII. — "  Another  iiifidet  doctrine  is,  that  conscience  is 
the  creature  nf  habit  formed  by  education.^^    Nos.  7  and  12. 

REFUTATION. 

These  two  accusations  being  opposite  and  contradictory  one 
to  the  other,  destroy  each  other,  and  fall  of  course.  Yet  I  may 
briefly  remark,  that  we  view  conscience  as  a  natural  faculty, 
or  organ  of  the  soul,  as  the  eye  is  a  physical  organ  of  the  body  ; 
and  as  the  eye  is  incapable  of  discerning  outward  objects 
without  the  light  of  the  natural  sun,  so  conscience  without  the 
illumination  of  the  glorious  sun  of  righteousness,  cannot  impart 
to  its  possessor  any  correct  impressions  as  to  his  moral  or  reli- 
gious duties,  or  enable  him  to  take  one  step  forward  himself, 
or  to  lead  another  towards  the  heavenly  Jerusalem.  On  this 
subject,  Barclay  says,  in  pages  159,  160  :  *' We  do  further, 
rightly  distinguish  this  (divine  light)  from  man's  natural  con- 
science ;  for  conscience  being  that  in  man  which  ariseth  from 
the  natural  faculties  of  man's  soul,  may  be  defiled  and  cor- 
rupted. It  is  said  expressly  of  the  impure,  Tit.  i.  15.  *  that 
even  their  mind  and  conscience  are  defiled  ;'  but  this  light  can 
never  be  corrupted  nor  defiled  ;  neither  did  it  ever  consent  to 
evil  or  wickedness  in  any ;  for  it  is  said  expressly,  that  *  it 
makes  all  things  manifest  that  are  reproveable.'  "    Eph.  v.  13. 

That  the  conscience  may  become  defiled  and  corrupted,  we 
have  an  evidence  furnished  by  the  author  of  these  calumnies, 
who,  «*  after  much  prayer  and  an  anxious  feeling  after  duty," 
has  been  led,  it  would  seem  conscientiously,  to  assert  the  most 
palpable  untruths ! 

Procul  0  !  prpcul  esto  profani ! 


SI 

Charge  XIII. — **'  Penitence  for  sin  and  gratitude  for  the  dcatii  uj 
Christ,  I  Jind  not  in  your  writings,  sermons,  or  prayers.*' — 
No.  42. 

REFUTATION. 

*«  We  are  fully  convinced  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian 
religion ;  the  incarnation,  glorious  life,  death,  mighty  niiia- 
des,  and  various  circumstances,  relative  to  the  liojy  life  of 
Jesus,  as  in  the  volume  of  the  book  it  is  written  ;  and  can  in 
an  awful  and  reverent  sense,  commemorate  those  vast  and  most 
interesting  events.  We  admire  with  humble  hearts  and  minds, 
the  awful  transactions  of  that  time,  when  sweat  like  drops  of 
blood  ran  from  the  face  of  the  holy  Jesus  !  We  behold  him  in 
his  agonies  on  Calvary's  mount,  offering  himself  a  sacrifice  for 
the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  that  he  might  purify  us  by  tlie 
shedding  of  his  precious  blood.  We  believe  in  his  amazing 
mercy  in  offering  himself  there  ;  when  laden  with  the  immense 
weight  of  the  sins  of  mankind,  he  was  left  to  suffer  alone  ! 
Here  pause  a  little  1  beseech  you  !  Contemplate  the  adorable 
theme  !  ^Acknowledge  0  man  that  unbounded  gratitude  which  is 
ever  due  from  thee  I  0  my  soul  how  much  owest  thou  unto  thy 
Lord .'" — "  Christ,  who  was  <  a  friend  to  the  publicans  and 
sinners,'  is  now  become  the  rock  of  my  salvation  ;  he  hath 
caused  me  to  trust  m  him,  and  to  seek  the  Lord  my  God.  The 
debt  I  owe  is  infinite.  I  desire  ever  to  acknowledge  it  with  all 
possible  gratitude.'*    Foth.  Sermons,  pp.  33,  34',  41. 

The  same  fervent  strain  of  penitence  and  gratitude  runs 
through  many  parts  of  this  volume ;  see  pages  19,  27  31,  37, 
41,  43,  44,  45,  47,  49,  &c.  &c. 

**  Yet  behold  the  astonishing  compassion  and  kindness  of  infinite 
goodness!  An  all-sufficient  means  was  straightway  provided  for 
the  redemption  of  the  actual  offenders  and  all  their  progeny.'' 
Phipps,  page  15. 

**  Our  Saviour,  therefore,  by  his  sacrifice,  manifested  the 
mercy,  love,  and  kindness  of  God."  Phipps,  page  18 ;  see  also 
pp.  25,  30,  31,  33,  et  al. 


Charge  XIV. — «  Your  prayers  are  just  such  as  an  honest  ueist 
would  offer  to  his  Creator  and  Preserver.**    No.  42. 

REFUTATION. 

*<  Blot  out  all  our  transgressions,  forgive  us  freely  for  thy 
dear  Son's  sake»  May  the  poor,  the  sick,  the  maimed,  the 
blind,  and  the  naked,  be  clothed  with  the  wedding  garment — 
the  righteousness  of  their  dear  Saviour.    To  thee.  Father  of  inG- 


as 

nite  mercy,  for  the  multitude  of  thy  mercies,  in  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lordi  to  thee  the  author  of  everj"^  blessing,  with  the  Son  of 
thy  bosonif  the  Lamb  immaculatef  be  all  praise  ascribed.  To 
thee  with  the  immaculate  Lamb,  the  Son  of  thy  bosom^  be  all 
honour  and  glory  ascribed.  For  thy  great  name's  sake  and 
for  thy  dear  Son's  sake,  remember  the  offspring  of  thy  people. 
Grant  that  whe7i  he  who  is  our  life  shall  appear,  we  also  may 
appear  with  him  hi  glory."  Fothergill,  pp.  47,  49,  50,  73,  93, 
94 ;  see  also  168,  160,  216. 


Charge  XV. — "  Tlie  volume  (Fothergill)  contains  five  long 
prayers,  they  are  made  up  of  praise  and  thanksgiving,  not  for 
Christ,  however,   but  for  temporal   blessing  and  for  internal 

light."    No.  42. 

REFUTATION. 

From  the  expositions  made  in  the  foregoing  pages,  the  reader 
can  scarcely  be  surprised  at  any  thing  your  minister  may  as- 
sert; but  I  think  some  additional  feeling  of  disgust  will  be  ex- 
cited in  this  case,  when  I  inform  him,  that  in  all  those  prayers, 
the  term  "  internal  light"  does  not  once  occur,  nor  is  there  a 
thanksgiving  offered  for  a  single  temporal  blessing  I ! 

That  part  of  this  charge  which  relates  to  Christ,  is  sufficiently 
refuted  in  the  foregoing  article. 


Charge  XVI. — "  In  Fothergill* s  Sermons  I  have  looked  invain 
for  the  spirit  of  a  penitent,  or  the  faith  of  a  believer.^'  No.  42. 

REFUTATION. 

"  What  do  I  owe  to  my  God !  What  do  I  not  owe  him  !  He 
hath  snatched  me  as  a  brand  out  of  the  fire,  and  I  would  not, 
though  to  gain  the  world,  tre.ad  back  again  in  the  path  of  folly. 
Our  sins  have  been  great,  and  our  transgressions  never  could 
have  been  obliterated,  had  not  Christ  done  it  for  us — but  Christ 
who  was  a  friend  to  the  publicans  and  sinners,  is  now  become 
the  rock  of  my  salvation !  He  hath  caused  me  to  trust  in  him, 
and  to  seek  the  Lord  my  God.  The  debt  I  owe  is  infinite.  I 
have  no  manner  of  doubt  but  he  *  whose  work  is  salvation,' 
who  came  into  the  world  purely  and  purposely  to  save  sinners, 
will  carry  on  his  own  work,  as  you  wholly  resign  yourselves  to 
his  forming  hand  ;  will  purify  your  hearts,  reconcile  you  to  the 
Father,  and  make  you  everlasting  instances  and  monuments 


'    S3 

•of  his  infinite  mercy.  Lift  up  therefore  thy  head  in  h6p( 
whoever  thou  art,  in  this  humbled  penitent  state,  for  *  th> 
salvation  draweth  nigh.'  Thoti.  owest  abundance  to  thy  Lord. 
bui  in  this  penitent  state  before  him,  he  will  blot  out  thy  sins 
as  a  cloudf  and  thy  transgressions  as  a  thick  cloud,"  Foth.  pp. 
40 — 41. 

*♦  O  !  my  soul  forever  acknowledge  how  much  thou  owest  unto 
thy  Lord.  Let  none  say  *  he  hath  blessed  me  variously  and 
in  some  future  time  I  will  awake  my  soul  to  gratitude,'  "  &c. 
Page  43. 

"But  we  are  assured  that  nothing  less  than  God  himself  is  the 
infinite  and  endless  reward  of  all  that  diligently  and  constantly 
seek  him,"  &c.     Page  56. 

« I  have  sometimes  been  present  in  a  dying  hour — the  closing 
period  of  a  regular  life  of  virtue,  which  would  have  passed  for 
miserable  in  the  minds  of  thousands ;  yet  when  they  have 
finished  their  course  they  have  experienced  triumphant  joy,  in 
the  blessed  hope  and  assurance  of  eternal  life  through  the 
merits  of  their  dear  Redeemer."    Page  66. 

Any  reader  who  is  not  convinced  of  the  unsoundness  of  this 
assertion,  I  refer  to  the  book  itself:  he  will  assuredly  find  that 
a  genuine  spirit  of  penitence,  of  faith,  and  of  overflowing  love 
and  gratitude  to  his  Saviour,  marks  in  a  prominent  degree  the 
character  of  Fothergill. 


Charge  XVII. — « In  FothergiWs  Dying  Exercises  tJiere  is  not 
one  word  6f  Christ  or  confession  for  sin,"    No.  42. 

REFUTATION. 

These  «  dying  exercises"  are  some  of  his  dying  expressions, 
found  in  the  preface  to  his  Sermons  :  among  which  are  the  fol- 
lowing : 

*<  My  soul  triumphs  over  death,  hell  and  the  grave — I  feel 
a  foretaste  of  that  joy  which  is  to  come — I  have  an  evidence 
that  I  shall  gain  an  admittance  into  his  (Christ's)  glorious 
church  triumphant  far  above  the  heavens."  His  last  words 
were : 

«  My  dear  love  is  to  all  them  that  love  the  LORD  JESUS  >" 

Thus  Fothergill  departed  full  of  joy  and  confidence,  and 
needing  no  "  confession"  in  his  dying  moments  ;  his  woi  k  was 
done  ;  the  Saviour  had  cleansed  and  purifyed  him,  and  lie  felt 
an  assuranci-  of  a  full  reconciliation  with  God.  And  although 
he  died  with  thi  name  of  ths  Lord  Jtsi^s  on  his  tongue,  yet  your 


24 

minister,  with  the  above  passage  before  him,  asserts,  that  « in 
his  dtjiiig  exercises  there  is  not  one  word  of  Christ.^'  /  ! 

In  addition  to  the  want  of  candor,  justice  and  truth,  exhibit- 
ed in  the  foregoing  charges,  there  is  superadded  to  the  last  five, 
an  ignoble  and  invidious  aim,  to  cast  a  shade  oyer  the  memory 
of  the  dead ;  to  vilify  the  character  of  a  worthy,  upright  and 
eminent  servant  of  Christ ;  to  present  him  before  the  public, 
as  a  heretic,  a  deist,  in  order  to  asperse,  by  reaction,  his  sur- 
viving brethren  of  the  same  profession.  But  I  think  that  the 
quotations  which  I  have  made  from  Fothergill's  Sermons  and 
prayers,  will  place  the  unworthy  motives  of  your  minister,  in 
such  a  point  of  view,  to  every  candid  reader,  that  they  cannot 
be  misunderstood. 

In  the  small  volume  containing  Fothergill's  Sermons  and 
prayers,  the  name  of  Christ  occurs  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
times,  besides  many  other  allusions  to  him  under  the  names  of 
"  the  Son  of  God,"  "  the  Lamb  immaculate,"  &c.,  and  the 
speaker  constantly  presents  him  to  the  hearer,  in  a  view  the 
most  engaging,  and  interesting;  clothing  him,  reverently,  with 
the  character  of  a  Redeemer,  a  Saviour,  a  Mediator,  a  pro- 
pitiatory sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  world ;  the  only  name 
under  heaven  by  which  we  can  be  saved  ;  the  Lamb  immacu- 
late slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  ! 

**  As  a  preacher,"  says  one  not  of  the  same  persuasion,  <*  Mr. 
Samuel  Fothergill  was  far  superior  to  most  who  fill  up  that 
station.  Sound  in  the  important  doctrines  of  the  Christian  faith, 
he  endeavoured  to  promote  them  universally  with  the  greatest 
energy  of  language  and  the  most  persuasive  eloquence.  Al- 
though  followed  by  numbers,  and  courted  by  persons  of  supe- 
rior rank  and  station,  and  admired  by  those  of  all  persuasions, 
the  applause  which  his  eminence  justly  acquired,  did  not  exalt 
but  evidently  tended  to  make  him  humble.  In  his  Sermons  it 
was  evident  that  he  deeply  felt  the  force  of  the  solemn  truths  he 
delivered  ;  and  his  manner  of  displaying  them  was  so  justly 
emphatical,  that  none  but  the  insensible  or  obdurate  could 
withstand  their  force." — See  preface  to  the  Sermons,  in  which 
is  an  extract  from  "  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,"  for  1773, 
relating  to  the  author,  and  of  which  the  above  forms  a  part, 
^ut  Samuel  Fothergill  had  stricken  the  decrees  out  of  his  creed : 
he  had  never  *<  studied  theology,"  but  learned  his  divinity  in 
the  school  of  Christ :  and  he  bore  a  steady  testimony  against 
a  corrupt  <*  educated  ministry/*  and  against  ecclesiastical  esta- 
hlishments  ;  and  these,  in  the  eyes  of  bigots,  are  crimes  &;iffi- 
cient  to  east  the  most  exalted  virtues  into  shade,  and  to  consign 
the  memory  of  their  possessor  to  endless  reproach  ? 


25 

Chakge  XVIII. — "  IfTiencver  you  state  your  views  of  the  (b'u- 
prenif  Being,  it  will  he  foiimU  the  God  yon  worship  is  not  the 
God  of  Israel.,  but  the  idol  of  the  deist,  dressed  up  ivith  a  few 
Christian  featuresJ*  — "  Your  doctrine  leads  you  to  deny  the 
scriptural  doctrine  of  the  trinity."    Nos.  36  and  42. 

REFUTATION. 

"  There  is  one  God,  who  is  a  Spirit.  And  this  is  the  mes- 
sage which  the  apostles  heard  of  him,  and  declared  unto  the 
saints,  that  he  is  light,  and  in  him  is  no  darkness  at  all.  There 
are  three  that  hear  record  in  heaven,  the  Father,  the  \Vord, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  these  three  are  one.  No  man  know- 
eth  the  Son  but  the  Father ;  neither  knoweth  any  man  the 
Father  hut  the  Son,  and  he  to  whomsoever  the  Son  will  reveal 
him.  The  Spirit  searcheth  all  things,  yea  the  deep  things  of 
God.  For  the  things  of  God  knoweth  no  man,  but  the  Spirit 
of  God.  Now  the  saints  have  received  not  the  Spirit  of  the 
world,  but  the  Spirit  which  is  of  God,  that  they  might  know 
the  things  which  are  freely  given  them  of  God.  For  the  Com- 
forter which  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the  Father  sends  in 
Christ's  name,  he  teacheth  them  all  things,  and  bringeth  all 
things  to  their  remembrance."     B.  Conf.  of  Faith,  Art.  I. 

"  For  the  infinite  and  most  wise  God,  who  is  the  foundation, 
root,  and  spring  of  all  operation,  hath  wrought  all  things  by  his 
eternal  Word  and  Son.  This  is  that  Word  which  was  in  the 
beginning  with  God  and  was  God,  by  whom  all  things  were 
made,  and  without  whom  was  not  any  thing  made  that  was 
made.  This  is  that  Jesus  Christ  by  whom  God  created  all 
things  :  by  whom  and  for  whom  all  things  were  created,  that 
are  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  visible  and  invisible,  whether  they 
be  thrones  or  dominions,  or  principalities  or  powers."  B.  Ap. 
p.  41. 

"  Hence  he  (Christ)  is  fitly  called  the  Mediator  betwixt 
God  and  man,  for  having  been  with  God  from  all  eternity,  be- 
ing himself  God,  and  also  in  time  partaking  of  the  nature  of 
man,  through  him  is  the  goodness  and  love  of  God  conveyed  to 
mankind,  and  by  him  again  man  receiveth  and  partaketh  of 
these  mercies."     ibid. 

**  That  holy  man  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  was  born  of  the  Virc;in 
Mary,  in  whom  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  dwelt  bodily." 
B.  Ap.  p.  152. 

"  For  I  freely  acknowledge  according  to  the  Scriptures,  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  proceedeth  from  the  Father  and  the  Son  and 
is  God."    Barclay's  Works. 

D 


S6 

Much  more  might  he  quoted,  but  the  foregoing  is  deemet^ 
sufficient  to  prove  that  the  Quakers  receive  and  believe  every 
thing  revealed  in  the  Sacred  Writings  relating  to  tiie  God- 
head. Your  minister  has  made  this  the  subject  of  much  coarse 
obloquy  and  abuse, — with  what  justice  the  impartial  reader  may 
now  determine.  Our  writers,  on  this  deep  subject,  have  closely 
adhered  to  the  terms  and  explanations  found  in  holy  writ,  and 
believing  that  no  man  knoweth  the  Father  but  the  Son,  and  he 
only  to  whomsoever  the  Son  will  reveal  him,  they  therefore  re- 
ject the  terms  trinity  and  distinct  persons^  as  anti-scriptural 
finite  expressions,  and  inapplicable  to  that  incomprehensible 
God,  who  is  every  where  present,  and  whom  the  heaven  of 
heavens  cannot  contain — terms  invented  by  letter  learned 
priests  and  theologians,  whose  wisdom  is  but  foolishness  with 
Him  whom  they  thus  attempt  to  scan.  To  such  solemn  triflers 
we  would  apply  the  language  of  Job  :  *<  Canst  thou  by  search- 
ing find  out  God  ?  Canst  thou  find  out  the  Almighty  to  per- 
fection ?  It  is  as  high  as  heaven  what  canst  thou  do  ?  Deeper 
than  hell  what  canst  thou  know  ?  The  measure  thereof  is  longer 
than  the  earth  and  broader  than  the  sea." 


Charge  XIX. — "  The  title  under  which  you  generally  address 
the  Deity  is  not  Redeemer  but  Creator.'"    No.  42. 

REFUTATION. 

This  assertion  is  brought  forward  as  an  additional  prop  to 
sustain  the  charge  of  deism  against  the  Society  of  Friends ; 
but  the  extracts  which  I  have  made  from  their  writers,  will 
convince  every  unprejudiced  reader  of  the  invidious,  unfound- 
ed, and  futile  nature  of  such  an  attempt.  In  refering  to  the 
prayers  of  Fothergill,  he  will  find  the  Deity  addressed  by  the 
titles  of  Father,  Lord,  Gracious  God,  Shepherd  of  Israel,  Holy 
One,  Sovereign  Author  of  Peace,  &c,,  and  frequent  allusions 
are  made  to  Him  as  the  fountain  of  divine  grace,  and  the  Author 
of  our  Salvation.  And  although  your  minister  here  asserts 
that  we  generally  address  him  by  the  title  only  of  "  Creator," 
yet  in  aU  the  Jive  prayers,  the  word  Creator  is  not  used  in  a  sin- 
gle instance  1 1 

Such  is  the  character  of  some  of  the  charges  preferred  by 
tliis  writer  against  the  Society  of  Friends — charges  made 
"  after  much  prayer  and  seeking  after  duty  ;"  by  one  too  who 
informs  us  in  his  first  number,  that  he  is  armed  strong  in  ho- 
msty,  and  has  <*  no  other  object  but  truth."  !    After  reading 


S7 

the  refutations  extracted  from  those  very  writers  which  he  has 
asserted  he  hfid  rearf,  will  not  every  impartial  judge, — will  not 
you  acknowledge,  that  he  has  degraded  the  station  he  holds  as 
a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  in  thus  violating  every  principle  of 
candor,  justice,  and  truth  ?  Inspect  closely  the  five  or  six  last 
assertions,  and  then  ask  yourselves  how  this  imputation  can 
possibly  be  evaded  ? 

We  are  told  by  your  minister  that  he  has  attended  our 
«  meetings  for  years.*'  Now  I  think  the  truth  of  this  assertion 
may  fairly  be  questioned.  How  shall  a  Presbyterian  minister 
discharge  his  pastoral  duties  to  his  Congregation,  and  at  the 
same  time  attend  our  meetings  in  the  sense  here  intended  to  be 
conveyed?  He  asserts  that  he  has  conversed  freely  with  our 
people;  yet  in  another  place  complains  that  we  "  avoid  religious 
conversation."  !  In  one  place  the  reader  is  informed  that  we 
set  up  conscience  as  an  infallible  guide,  and  in  another  he 
charges  us  with  the  infidel  doctrine  of  making  it  the  mere  crea- 
ture of  habit  !  He  affirms  in  several  places  to  our  deistical  doc- 
trines, and  that  we  do  not  worship  the  God  of  Israel,  yet  he 
very  charitably  admits  in  another  place,  that  there  are  real 
saints  in  our  society.  Saints  who  are  deistSf  and  worship  not 
the  true  God  ! !  And,  to  caj)  the  climax  of  this  paragon  of  false- 
hoods and  contradictions,  he  asserts  :  <«  In  my  letters  to  the 
FriendSf  I  am  not  conscious  of  using  one  exjjression  in  the  least 
degree  untrue,  unjust,  or  jincharitable."  !  I 

In  one  place  he  says  with  not  a  little  self  complacency :  "  I 
know  that  my  spirit  is  full  of  love ,"  and  again  :  "  I  am  with- 
out hypocrisy,  in  true  Christian  charity,  your  affectionate friendJ^* 
Now  take  the  following  expressions  as  an  evidence  of  Iiis  over- 
flowing love,  and  Christian  cjiarity  : 

«<  Just  so  in  your  Society  (as  with  the  heathen)  Pelagians* 
Universalists,  Socinians,  deists  and  atheists,  can  dwell  toge- 
ther in  amity.  It  is  no  matter  what  a  man  believes,  so  he  is 
sincere  ;*  and  every  s])eaker  declaring  what  doctrine  he 
please,  provided  he  does  not  preach  the  gospel.    But  should  the 

♦  "  If  any  in  membership  with  us  shall  blaspheme  or  speak  prophanely 
of  Almighty  God,  Christ  Jesus,  or  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  or  slie  ought  early  to  be 
tenderly  treated  with  for  their  instruction  and  the  convincement  of  their  un- 
derstandings, that  they  may  experience  repentance  and  forgiveness  :  but 
should  any  notwitlistanding  this  brotherly  labour,  persist  in  their  error  or  deny 
the  Divinity  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  the  immediate  revelation 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  the  authenticity  of  the  Scriptures,  as  it  is  manifest  they 
are  not  one  in  faith  with  us,  the  monthly  meeting  where  the  party  belongs, 
Jiaving  extended  due  care  for  the  help  and  benefit  of  the  individual,  without 
effect,  aught  to  declare  the  same,  and  issue  their  testimony  accordingly." 

Discipline  of  the  Quakers,  page  23- 


as 

apostles  themselves  appear  among  you,  and  preach  their  old 
doctrines,  you  would  all  say,  *'  sit  ye  down,  ye  are  not  called 
to  minister." 

*♦  Between  you  and  us,  [here  he  makes  himself  the  mouth- 
piece of  all  other  denominations]  there  is  a  great  gulf  fixed, 
which  forever  forbids  our  union  in  this  world,   if  not  in  the 

**  Until  you  give  more  satisfactory  evidence  that  you  are 
really  on  the  side  of  Christ  and  the  gospel — faithful  watchmen 
on  the  walls  of  Zion  will  keep  you  at  a  distance  [stand  off,  for 
I  am  holier  than  thou  /]  and  regard  you  as  enemies  of  Christ  and 
his  cause." 

"  The  searcher  of  hearts  is  my  witness  that  my  soul  weeps 
over  the  souls  you  are  ruining,  by  keeping  them  in  ignorance 
of  the  only  true  God  and  the  salvation  of  Christ." 

"  A  difference  from  your  brethren  of  other  denominations 
on  this  point,  will  forever  separate  you  from  their  communion, 
and  exclude  you  in  their  estimation,  from  the  visible  church  and 
the  number  of  the  worshippers  of  the  only  true  God.'^ 

Amicus  having  alluded  to  some  of  the  enlightened  heath- 
ens, as  furnishing  an  evidence  from  their  sentiments,  charac- 
ter and  conduct,  that  the  grace  of  God  (contrary  to  your  creed) 
had  been  extended  to  these,  although  they  had  no  outward 
knowledge  of  Christ,  agreeably  to  the  testimony  of  the  apostle 
respecting  them :  that  many  of  the  Hindoos  saw  beyond  the 
idolatries  which  they  practised ;  that  modern  missionaries,  in 
their  labours  to  convert  the  heathens,  lay  too  much  stress  on 
forms  and  opinions,  and  too  little  on  principles  and  practice,  and 
therefore  were  not  likely  to  profit  them :  that  our  Indians, 
having,  in  their  intercourse  with  those  called  christians,  con- 
tracted the  vices  of  civilization  to  the  exclusion  of  its  virtues, 
had  been  thus  deteriorated  rather  than  benefited.  Amicus 
having  presented  these  views,  the  correctness  of  which,  few 
I  think  will  deny,  your  minister  after  along  episode,  having  no 
immediate  bearing  on  the  case,  breaks  forth  into  the  following 
strain  against  the  Quakers  : 

"  After  you  have  openly  preferred  the  religion  of  the  Hin- 
doos, and  of  our  western  Indians,  to  Christianity  :  after  you 
have  denied  the  worship  of  Vishnoo  and  Brahma  to  be  idolatry  : 
after  you  have  allowed  the  deists  to  have  saving  grace  :  after 
you  have  said  the  religion  of  Christendom  is  falsely  called  the 
Christian  religion,  and  that  the  heathens  have  always  been 
made  worse  by  the  professors  of  Christianity,  the  public  will 
need  no  further  justification  of  all  the  charges  I  have  brought 


2Q 

against  you,  nor  doubt  your  partiality  for  heathenism,  and  yom 
hostility  to  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  I  /" 

Are  we  to  accept  this  raudern  Saul  as  a  fair  examplar  of  those 
«  pious  young  men,*  with  whom  your  adored  Mma  Mater  is 
now  teeming,  and  who  are,  by  and  by,  to  be  brought  forth  to 
refine  and  improve,  by  precept  and  example,  the  morals  and 
religion  of  society  ?  He  has  informed  the  public  that  truth  is 
the  sole  object  of  his  researches.  Why  then  resort  to  abuse, 
calumny,  and  falsehood  ?  He  tells  us  also,  that  he  is  **  armed 
strong  in  honesty."  Why  then  descend  to  the  use  of  weapons 
that  no  honest  man  would  wield  I  Truth  and  honesty,  there- 
fore, are  out  of  the  question,  and  we  are  fully  justified  in  the 
conclusion,  that  a  motive  of  a  very  different,  of  a  much  less 
exalted  character  than  truth,  has  influenced  him  ;  and  that, 
whilst  wandering  in  this  labyrinth  of  error,  he  has  put  on 
other  armour  than  that  of  honesty. 

When  high  professors  yield  to  a  shameful  misrule  of  the 
passions,  and  put  forth  their  hands  "to  steady  the  ark,"  Chris- 
tianity sustains  a  greater  injury  than  its  open  foes  can  possibly 
inflict ;  for  it  is  with  the  church  as  with  man  :  "  the  greatest 
enemies  are  those  of  her  own  household."  When  pastors  depart 
from  the  precepts  laid  down  by  the  holy  apostle,  that  a  bishop 
must  he  blameless,  not  soon  angry,  sober,  just,  holy,  temperate, 
gentle  unto  all  men,  patient,  and  in  nuekness  instructing  those 
that  oppose  themselves^' — when,  instead  of  adhering  to  this  whole- 
some advice,  they  calumniate  and  falsify  ;  they  not  only  suffer 
loss  themselves,  but  they  open  the  mouths  of  gainsayers,  bring 
reproach  upon  their  profession,  injure  their  service,  and  by 
this  unsavoury  fruit,  set  the  teeth  of  those  on  edge  over  whom 
they  are  placed.  Now,  if  we  are  to  believe  this  writer,  his 
whole  object  is  truth,  and  he  has  taken  up  the  pen  to  convince 
the  Quakers  that  they  are  wrong.  Is  it  to  be  believed  that- 
your  minister  is  so  ignorant  of  mankind,  as  to  presume  that 
imputation  and  contumely  will  convince  and  reform  them  ? 
The  Quakers  have  been  accused  of  obstinacy.  If  an  unyielding 
tenacity  of  the  rights  of  conscience,  and  an  undeviating  perse- 
verance in  what  they  believe  to  be  their  religious  duties,  justi- 
fies the  imputation,  their  history  proves  them  to  be  the  most 
obstinate  people  upon  earth  !  Your  brethren  of  New  England 
can  testify  that  halters  have  no  terrors  for  them,  wliere  reli- 
gious obligation  is  concerned.  For  every  one  these  Presbyte- 
rians hung,  five  came  in  his  room ! !  What  then  can  those  feeble 
weapons  which  your  minister  wields,  achieve  against  such  ar- 
mour ?  He  has  predicted  the  downfall  of  Quakerism,  and  his 
brethren  did  the  same  one  hundred  years  ago  5  yet  the  Qua- 


30 

kers  are  at  this  day  more  numerous  than  ever.  Hence  « this 
also  is  vanity"  and  delusive  as  <'  the  hypocrite's  hope,"  which 
perisheth.  But  although  the  Quakers  should  abandon  their 
standard,  or  become  extinct,  yet  even  from  such  an  event  the 
priesthood  have  nothing  to  hope,  for  **  the  very  stones  would 
cry  out,"  and  the  testimonies  which  this  people  now  bear 
against  priestcraft;  a  hireling  man-made  ministry;  an  out- 
ward carnal,  speculative  religion,  and  theological  seminaries  ; 
and  against  war  and  slavery,  will  ever  continue  to  be  main- 
tained, and  to  flourish  like  plants  of  the  Lord's  right  hand 
planting,  until  the  free  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  shall  cease  to  be 
bought  and  sold,  and  the  true  spiritual  worship  of  God  be  every 
where  established  in  the  room  of  the  present  outward  ceremo- 
nious systems,  the  mere  caput  mortuum  of  a  former  dispensa- 
tion— and  until  righteousness  shall  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters 
cover  the  sea. 

The  opposition  made  by  the  Quakers,  as  well  to  the  nature 
and  constitution,  as  to  the  power  and  influence  of  an  educated 
hireling  ministry,  has  ever  drawn  down  upon  them  the  ire  and 
indignation  of  Reverends  and  Right  Reverends  of  almost  every 
denomination.  From  the  pulpit  and  the  press,  the  most  infa- 
mous and  calumnious  libels  have  issued  against  them,  to  destroy 
their  influence,  by  rendering  them  odious  in  the  public  estima- 
tion ;  but  the  object  has  failed  ;  for  «*  George  Fox,"  says  Gover- 
nor Livingston,  '*  has  done  more  towards  the  restoration  of  real, 
unadulterated  Christianity,  and  the  extirpation  of  priestcraft^ 
superstition,  and  ridiculous,  unavailing  rites  and  ceremonies, 
tvithout  human  learning,  than  any  other  reformer  in  protestant 
Christendom  has  done  with  it."    Am.  Museum,  vol.  viii.  p.  235. 

Of  the  sort  of  means  resorted  to  by  a  venal  priesthood  to 
accomplish  their  object,  this  attack  of  your  minister  affords  an 
excellent  specimen  ;  and  we  may  expect  to  hear  the  old  clerical 
cry  of  deist,  heretic,  &c.  resounded  from  Maine  to  Georgia,  by 
these  reverend  gentlemen.  But  what  will  all  this  avail  ?  The 
voice  of  the  Quakers  against  priestcraft,  never  has,  nor  never 
will  be  suppressed  ;  and  the  more  pressing  the  emergency,  and 
the  liotter  the  persecution,  the  stronger  will  be  the  reaction., 
and  the  more  distinctlv  will  that  voice  be  heard. 


LETTEU  II. 


MISSIONARY  AND  BIBLE  SOCIETIES. 

AFTER  proving  in  the  foregoing  letter,  your  ministcr*a 
entire  disregard  to  truth  and  candour,  I  am  very  sure  that 
every  impartial  reader,  on  the  maxim  expede  Hercultnif  would 
consider  it  as  wholly  superfluous  to  take  any  further  notice  of 
a  writer  who  has  thus  forfeited  all  legitimate  claim  to  the  cre- 
dence, and  even  to  the  forbearance  of  his  readers.  There  is 
yet  one  charge,  however,  the  grounds  of  which  1  propose  to 
examine  at  some  length,  because  it  is  brought  forward  with  a 
degree  of  plausibility,  and  on  a  subject  too,  in  which  a  large 
portion  of  the  christian  community  has  taken  a  deep  and  lively 
interest.  I  allude  to  our  alleged  opposition  to  Missionary  and 
Bible  Societies. 

That  the  Quakers  are  opposed  to  any  means  likely  to  advance, 
in  their  view,  the  Redeemer's  kingdom  in  the  earth,  is  a  charge 
not  less  groudless  than  absurd.  That  they  are  enemies  to  gos- 
pel missions,  and  the  proper  distribution  of  Bibles  and  other 
suitable  religious  books,  is  sufficiently  contradicted  by  their 
own  efforts  in  that  way  from  their  first  origin  as  a  Society. 
That  they  have  made  any  opposition  in  a  collective  capacity. 
to  Missionary  and  Bible  Societies  as  they  are  at  present  con- 
stituted, is  also  a  charge  equally  destitute  of  foundation.  But 
it  is  a  fact  and  one  which  J  feel  no  reluctance  publicly  to  avow. 
that  the  Quakers  in  an  individual  capacittjf  have  very  general- 
ly declined  to  associate  with,  and  some  members  of  that  Society 
have  publicly  opposed  these  enterprises.  The  reasons,  prin- 
cipally, which  have  influenced  their  determination  herein,  I 
would  assign  as  follows : 

1.  These  undertakings  have  their  origin  from  the  natural 
ivill  and  wisdovn,  of  the  Creature. 

2.  Thetj  are  conducted  bij  a  spuriously  ordainedt  man-made 
ministry. 

S.  This  ministry  is  also  a  hireling  ministry. 

Now,  whilst  Quakerism  exists,  these  three  objections  must 
in  my  view,  be  insuperable  bars  to  a  union  of  effort,  in  the  pro- 
pagation of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  any  part  of  the  world : 


iiur  can  any  individual  of  this  society,  associate  in  any  religious 
concern  of  this  kind,  with  any  one  who  upholds  an  educated  hire- 
ling ministi-y,  without  a  violation  of  his  principles  as  a  Quaker. 
In  these  free  remarks^,  I  wish  not  to  be  understood  as  con- 
demning all  who  are  engaged  in  missionary  concerns.  I  believe 
there  arc  many,  who  are  active  both  in  bestowing  charitable 
donations,  and  in  missionary  labours  abroad,  who  are  not  less 
sincere  than  disinterested  in  their  motives.  But  sincerity  and 
disinterestedness  are  not  the  touchstones  of  truth  and  error.  1 
also  believe  that  some  partial  good  may  be  effected  by  these 
efforts ;  yet  this  by  no  means  proves,  that  these  widely  ex- 
tended schemes  will  finally  result  in  the  advancement  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom,  or  in  the  general  good  of  mankind.  But, 
in  order  to  bring  this  question  fairly  before  the  reader,  I  will 
have  recourse  to  facts. 

There  has  never  been  a  people  since  the  first  rise  of  Chris- 
tianity, so  conspicuous  for  their  grand  efforts  in  the  cause  of 
missions  as  the  order  of  the  Jesuits.  Our  moderns  cannot 
compete  with  the  followers  of  the  fanatical,  but  ambitious 
Loyola,  in  any  of  the  grand  pre-requisites  for  the  evangeli- 
zation of  the  heathen.  They  possessed  in  the  seventeenth 
century  no  less  than  six  thousand  colleges^  one  hundred  and 
fifty  seminaries,  and  two  hundred  missions  !  Hence  in  learning, 
in  indefatigable  zeal,  pious  frauds,  and  in  "  holy  cunning  ,•" 
even  your  minister  himself,  who  it  seems,  would  "  circumcise 
a  Jew  to  ingratiate  himself  into  favour,"  and  win  him  over  to 
the  Calvinistic  faith,  must  yield  the  palm  to  the  famous  order 
of  the  Jesuits. 

Having  «•  studied  theology,"  and  being  amply  furnished  with 
that  grand  sine  qua  non — money,  these  "  pious,  intelligent, 
enterprising  ministers,"  spread  themselves  over  the  eastern 
world,  made  an  immense  number  of  proselytes ;  and,  agreeably 
to  the  plan  of  the  inimitable  and  orthodox  Lyman  Beecher, 
formed  ♦<  an  extensive  combination  of  institutions,  religious, 
civil,  and  literary,"  by  "  establishing  schools,  and  colleges, 
and  academies,  and  habits  of  homogeneous  influence."  What 
has  been  the  result  of  all  these  labours?  I  need  not  enter  into 
a  detail  of  the  well  known,  yet  terrible  catastrophe.  Planned 
and  conducted  agreeably  to  the  dictates  of  human  wisdom,  these 
schemes  had  a  sandy,  unstable  basis.  A  spirit  of  pride  and 
ambition  grew  with  the  growth  and  strengthened  with  the 
strength  of  these  Babel-builders  ;  until  at  length,  confiding  in 
their  numbers  and  influence,  they  insulted,  in  Japan,  a  prince 
of  the  empire,  and  for  this  offence,  they,  with  their  numerous 
converts,  were  all  cut  off  with  the  sword  !  In  China  they  set 


38 

about  devising  schemes  to  overturn  the  government,  whicli, 
being  discovered,  produced  their  ininicdiale  xpidsion,  and  no 
christian  missionary,  I  believe,  has  since  been  permitted  to 
enter  the  empire. 

The  Jesuits  also  proselyted  thousands  in  Ceylon,  Hindostan, 
and  other  parts  of  the  East,  and  splendid  churches  were  erect- 
ed in  these  countries.  Wliat  is  the  result  ?  After  hundreds 
of  missionaries  had  been  eai|)loyed,  vast  sums  of  money  ex- 
pended in  erecting  magnificent  places  for  worship,  and  the 
mtjst  animating  accounts  of  success  amongst  the  heathens  had 
been,  from  time  to  time,  transmitted  to  the  Holy  See  ^  to  use  the  lan- 
guage of  one  of  our  own  missionaries,  <»  the  zeal  which  origina- 
ted these  missions,  appai  ^ntly  vanislied,"  the  most  of  their  eon- 
verts  reverted  back  a^ain  to  heathenism^  and  their  splendid 
churches  being  visited  by  thfm  no  more,  several  of  the  mis- 
sionaries who  now  go  there  from  the  protestant  countries,  arc 
beginning  to  repair  and  occupy  them  again. 

The  Jesuits  extended  their  operations  to  this  continent,  and 
we  have  the  following  account  of  these  from  senatorBenton,  who, 
in  speaking  to  a  motion  made  in  tiie  senate,  in  relation  to  some 
lands  granted  to  the  United  Brethren,  said  : 

<<  He  believed  great  abuses  had  been  committed  on  public 
and  private  charity,  in  the  name  of  humanity  to  Indians,  and 
he  could  hold  it  but  little  short  of  an  abuse  to  attempt  at  this 
day,   with  the  experience  of  three  hundred  years  before  our 
eyes,  to  raise  money  from  the  weak  and  credulous  for  the  pur- 
pose of  converting  the  Indians.     He  said  he  would  go  back 
two  hundred  years  for  the  sake  of  a  single  example.     Canada 
was  then  just  discovered — the  French  held  it — Henry  IV.  was 
on  the  throne,  and  the  Jesuit,  father  Cotton,  was  his  confessor. 
This  Jesuit  conceived  the  design  of  converting  the   Canada 
Indians,  and  the  first  question  with  him  (as  with  you)  was  to 
raise  the  ways  and  means.  Man,"  said  the  senator,  <*  is  an  ex- 
citable animal,  and  woman  still  more  so ;  and  above  all,  a 
French  man  and  a  French  woman.     The  Jesuit  knew  this,  so 
he  addressed  himself  to  the  ladies  of  the  court  and  of  the  city 
of  Paris.     The  effect  was  electric.     High  and  low  rushed  into 
the  project.     Enemies  in  every  thing  else  united  in  this. — 
Tile  gazettes  of  the  day  were  spangled  over  with  the  names 
and  titles  of  female  patronesses  of  missions.     Money,  clothes, 
and  valuable  effects  flowed  in  upon  the  Jesuit.     Young  ladies 
were   even  sent  to  Canada  to  nurse  the  sick    christian  In- 
dians.    To  repay  so  much  liberality,  the  Jesuit    missionaries 
sent  back  the  most  wonderful  accounts  of  their  success.     Ac- 
cording to  their  reports,  the  six  nations,  and  divers  other  na- 

E 


u 

tions  were  converted.  The  K>eal  of  the  ladies  rose  to  phrenay, 
and  father  Cotton  had  to  moderate  it.  The  French  Calvin- 
ists  insisted  all  the  while  tliat  the  Jesuits  were  doing  no  good  to 
the  Indians,  but  acquiring  much  power  and  riches  for  them- 
selves, for  which  they  were,  of  course,  stigmatized  as  the  ene- 
mies of  the  Indians.  On  which  side  the  better  reason  was, 
might  be  guessed  at  from  the  fact,  that  when  the  English  go- 
vernment succeeded  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  Canadas,  they 
found  the  Jesuits  in  possession  of  very  few  converts,  and  in 
the  enjoyment  of  very  large  revenues ;  no  less  than  44,000 
dollars  per  annum,  which  went  to  the  British  crown  upon  the 
extinction  of  the  order  some  years  ago  ;  and  there  ended  the 
charities  of  Parisian  ladies  in  favor  of  converting  American 
Indians." 

"But,"  continues  the  senator,  *<  it  was  not  father  Cotton  and 
the  ladies  only,  who  had  tried  this  business  and  failed  in  it. 
All  the  kings  of  France,  from  the  discovery  of  Canada  in  1600, 
to  the  cession  of  that  province  and  Louisiana  in  1763,  had 
made  the  same  experiment,  with  the  same  wonderful  success 
in  the  beginning,  and  the  same  miserable  result  in  the  end.  In 
the  reigns  of  these  kings,  the  missionaries  covered  the  valley 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  carried  their  adventurous  zeal  to  the 
shores  of  lake  Superior  and  Winipec,  and  to  the  banks  of  the 
Saskatchiwine  river,  every  where  converting  nations,  and 
building  chapels,  and  bringing  to  their  altars  innumerable  wor- 
shippers of  the  only  true  and  living  God  !  and  yet  what  is  the 
present  fruit  of  all  this  labour?  If  a  traveller  on  the  banks 
of  the  Mississippi  should  inquire  for  the  monuments  of  that 
time,  and  of  that  work,  he  might  be  pointed  to  the  walls  of 
a  fallen  down  house  in  the  village  of  Kaskaskia,  and  told  <  that 
'was  the  Jesuit's  college.*  He  might  be  pointed  to  a  stream  of 
water  below  St.  Louis,  called  la  riviere  des  pires,  (river  of  the 
fathers,)  and  to  anotlier  above,  called  la  riviere  des  moines, 
(river  of  the  monks.)  and  informed  that  these  walls  and  these 
names,  are  the  only  vestiges  which  now  remain  of  all  the  la- 
l)ors  of  that  powerful  order,  in  this  magnificent  valley." 

The  senator  pointed  to  Lake  Superior,  and  said  "  It  was  the 
same  thing  there.  The  scite  of  the  chapel  which  contained 
eight  hundred  worshippers  in  the  time  of  Charlevoix,  was 
now  unknown.  Nay  more ;  the  knowledge  of  the  fact  that 
missionaries  had  ever  been  there,  was  itself  in  danger  of  being 
lost.  He  had  the  authority  of  sir  Alexander  M*Kenzie  for  as- 
serting, that  this  knowledge,  even  thirty  years  ago,  was  con- 
fined to  the  stream  of  tradition,  and  to  the  memory  of  some 
superannuated  old  men.  If  such  had  been  the  fruit  of  missions. 


35 

patronized  by  such  men  as  Hetiry  IV.,  and  the  Duke  of  Sully, 
Louis  XIII.,  and  cardinal  Richlieu  ;  Louis  XIV.,  and  the 
great  Colbert,  led  by  an  order,  who,  for  energy  and  devotion, 
have  been  styled  the  Janisaries  of  the  Papal  throne  ;  he  for 
one,"  said  the  senator,  "  was  ready  to  despair  of  any  great 
success  from  our  empty  pockets  and  discordant  forces." 

Such  is  an  outline  of  the  history  and  results  of  the  labours 
of  the  Jesuits  to  give  Christianity  to  the  heathen  nations.  From 
this  source  we  draw  an  ample  fund  of  experience  ;  a  degree 
of  evidence,  which  ought  to  put  to  rest  all  Imman  speculations 
on  this  subject.  An  evidence  that  God  has  not  chosen  such 
instruments  to  promote  his  cause  in  the  earth ;  to  these  he 
"  giveth  not  his  glory,"  neither  his  "praise  to  graven  ima- 
ges." 

Now  the  basis  upon  which  rests  the  modern  missionary  su- 
perstructure, is,  essentially,  the  same.  Colleges,  and  acade- 
mies, and  seminaries,  and  the  study  of  a  dry,  dull,  and  barren 
theology,  are  now,  as  then,  the  great  pre-requisites.  The  same 
man  made  ministry  ;  and  pursuing  alike,  the  counsels  of  their 
own  carnal  wills,  and  creaturely  conceptions,  the  declaration 
of  the  Most  High  to  the  false  prophets  of  old,  is  equally  appli- 
cable to  both  cases  :  «  Therefore,  behold  I  am  against  the  pro- 
phets, saith  the  Lord,  that  steal  my  words,  every  one  from  his 
neighbour;  that  use  their  tongues  and  say,  *  he  saith;*  that 
prophesy  false  dreams  saith  the  Lord,  and  do  tell  them,  and 
cause  my  people  to  err,  by  their  lies,  and  by  their  lightness; 
yet  I  sent  them  not,  nor  commanded  them  ;  therefore  they  shall  not 
profit  this  people  at  all,  saith  the  Lord." 

1  now  ask  the  reader's  attention  to  some  facts  which  have 
lecked  out,  in  relation  to  our  modern  missions  in  foreign  coun-. 
tries. 

1.  *'  The  American  board  of  commissioners  for  foreign  mis- 
sions was  instituted  in  June,  1810,  and  incorporated  June  20th, 
1812.  In  ten  years  there  has  been  paid  from  the  treasury  of 
the  board,  the  sum  of  201,600  dollars.  In  these  ten  years,  there 
have  been  received  under  the  patronage  and  direction  of  the 
board,  as  missioiiaries  and  assistants,  sixty-two  men  and  forty- 
eiglvt  women — in  all,  110.  Eighty-eight  are  now  in  the  fields 
respectively  assigned  them,  or  on  their  way  to  them.  Of  these, 
twenty-six  are  ordained  ministers  of  the  gospel,  educated,  the 
most  of  them,  in  literary  and  theological  seminaries  of  the  first 
order  in  our  country."     Missitmary  Herald,  1821. 

The  committee  of  the  board,  in  their  last  annual  report,  say, 
"  Of  the  effects  and  fruits  actually  produced,  it  is  yet  time  to  ex- 
pect but  little f  and  to  say  but  little."    Such  is  the  account  after 


36 

ten  years  operation,  the  employment  of  one  hundred  and  ten 
workmen,  and  the  expenditure  of  above  200,00;;  dollars !  Such 
a  report,  coming  too  from  such  a  quarter,  speaks  volumes  on 
this  subject.  The  Jesuits  repaid  the  Parisian  ladies  with  the 
most  Jlattenng  accounts.  But  this  board,  alihougli  their  ca- 
terers are  so  vociferous  in  urging  our  American  ladies  to  rise 
early  and  sit  up  late,  and  «<  wliirl  the  wheel"  to  make  money  for 
them,  comfort  th«  nj  only  with  a  doubtful  and  distant  prospect. 

2.  The  missioTi  at  Rangoon  in  the  Birman  empire,  has  con- 
tinued about  twelve  years.  I  ive  missionaries  have  been  sta- 
tioned here,  where  many  have  gone  from  this  country,  and  not 
less  than  fifty  or  sixty  tiiousand  dollars  expended — three  thou- 
sand sent  from  this  country  at  one  time.  During  this  period 
of  twelve  years,  thirteen  natives  only  have  been  baptized.  This 
:met  is  stated  on  the  authority  of  the  missionaries  themselves. 
The  missionaries  have  lately  been  expelled  from  this  station 
by  order  of  the  emperor. 

3.  Speaking  of  the  want  of  success  amongst  the  natives  in 
Calcutta,  Lawson,  an  English  Baptist  missionary,  writes : 

<'  We  together  with  our  fellow  labourers  are  casting  in  the 
seed,  but  we  perceive  no  effects.  We  call  to  repentance,  but 
none  seems  to  obey  the  call.  The  natives  collect  in  numbers 
to  hear  the  word  of  God  proclaimed.  They  listen  sometimes 
attentively ;  sometimes  they  nod  assent  to  what  we  say,  and 
some  appear  cordially  to  approve  ;  at  other  times  they  ridicule 
or  oppose  with  virulence :  but  the  service  concludes,  and  the 
people  disperse  again,  and  all  seems  forgotten.  Tkis  state  of 
things  has  now  continued  for  two  or  three  years,  and  no  fruits 
appear." 

4.  The  Missionary  Society  in  England  have  erected  at  a 
vast  expense  a  splendid  establishment  at  Serampore,  and  have 
embellished  it  with  all  the  resources  of  art,  such  as  costly 
buildings,  elegant  gardens,  &c.  This  property  has  already 
become  a  bone  of  contention  with  the  apostles  of  the  cross  sta- 
tioned there,  as  appears  by  the  following  extract  of  a  letter 
from  a  Baptist  missionary  now  in  India  : 

*»  The  missionaries  (at  Serampore)  began  in  a  way  which 
human  frailty  could  not  long  sustain.  What  is  now  the  result ! ! 
It  is  on  my  mind,  and  should  1  be  fearful  of  exposing,  what,  in 
official  letters  has  been  declared  to  all  the  junior  brethren  ? 
That  the  triumvirate  at  Serampore,  have  by  a  solemn  act,  pro- 
nounced themselves  henceforth  disconnectedfrom,  and  independeiit 
of  the  society  in  England.  All  the  junior  missionaries  sent  out 
by  the  society,  (hey  have  cut  off,  and  by  a  law  (from  whence 
obtained  unknown)  declared  the  premises  at  Seramiwre  to  be 


S7 

their  own  exclusive  property.  They  reserve  to  themselves  the 
right  of  appointing  successors.  It  is  well  known  tliat  the  pre- 
mises as  well  as  themselves,  have  been  considered  as  the  so- 
ciety's property.  By  their  industry  they  have  built  up  the 
place,  beautified  and  enriched  it.  It  is  now  too  tempting  a  spec- 
tacle to  be  viewed,  as  not  their  own.  In  this  very  act  you  see 
the  error  in  the  original  plan.  It  is  not  justified  ;  it  excitea 
general  disgust :  it  is  a  mystery  insolvable  by  many,  but  the 
Jesuitism  long  practisedy  has  nearly  as  long  been  penetrated 
by  a  few  discerners,  and  now  the  chapter  needs  no  index  nor 
comment.  Oh  for  plain  simplicity  in  such  matters !  Men 
should  not  trust  too  much  to  fellow  men,  on  either  side.  A 
society  in  England  or  America  is  in  the  dark.  Things  in  India 
are,  and  must  necessarily  be,  different  from  theinviews.  From 
time  to  time  all  tiic  juniors  have  been  by  affectionate  words  and 
gentle  pressures,  squeezed  out  from  taking  or  acting  any  part 
at  Serampore,  very  much  to  the  disappointment  of  first  views." 
"The  brethren  at  Serampore  by  their  recent  declarations,  have 
greatly  grieved  all  the  younger  brethren,  that  they  should  so 
have  disgraced  themselves.'* 

Behold  the  seeds  of  dissention  already  scattered  among  these 
selected,  disinterested,  unambitious,  few  !  and  what  about  ?  A 
little  piece  of  worldly  property.  Such  are  the  men  who  have 
been  sent  out  to  teach  the  heathen  "  to  keep  himself  unspotted 
from  the  world;  to  furnish  him  with  the  fist  examples  of  Chris- 
tian walking;  to  say  to  him  in  the  strong  language  of  conduct, 
as  an  apostle  to  the  heathen  did  formerly,  *^  follow  me  as  I  fol- 
low Christ  /"  But  let  us  pursue  this  inquiry  further,  and 
examine  how  missionary  matters  are  managed  at  Serampore, 
the  focus  wherein  are  concentrated  the  hopes  of  so  large  a 
portion  of  the  christian  world. 

5.  Harriet  Newell,  wife  of  one  of  the  Missionaries,  on  her 
arrival  at  Serampore,  gives  the  following  account : 

<«  This  is  the  most  delightful  place  I  ever  saw.  Here  the 
Missionaries  enjoy  all  the  comforts  of  life.  The  mission  house 
consists  of  four  large,  commodious  stone  buildings,  Dr.  Ca- 
rey's, Dr.  Marshman's,  Mr.  Ward's,  and  the  common  house. 
Imagine  to  yourself  a  large  stone  house,  with  six  lofty,  spacious 
keeping  and  lodging  rooms,  with  the  same  number  of  unim- 
proved rooms  below  ;  such  is  the  building.  Dr.  Carey's  house 
appeared  like  a  palace  to  us — Dr.  Carey  is  now  advanced  to  a 
state  of  honour,  with  six  thousand  dollars  per  annum.  We  ac- 
cepted an  invitation  to  visit  the  mission  family  at  Serampore. 
Here  peace  and  plenty  dwell,  and  we  almost  forget  that  we  are  in 
a  land  of  pagan  darkness.    The  garden  is  larger  and  much  more 


38 

elegant  than  any  I  ever  satv  in  Jlmerica.^^    "  Dr.  Carey  has  a 
large,  number  of"  Hindoo  servants."  ) 

From  this  account  the  reader  will  perceive  much  superfluous 
expenditure,  in  erecting  <«  palaces"  and  constructing  "  elegant 
gardens,"  to  feed  the  "  lust  of  the  eye"  and  the  "  pride  of  life," 
of  the  professed  apostles  of  that  Saviour,  who  was  made  an  ex- 
ampkf  that  we  might  follow  his  steps  :  and  who  was  »«  meek  and 
low,"  "  and  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head."  Every  sensihle 
mind,  I  think,  must  lament  this  great  departure  from  the  Chris- 
tian simplicity  of  the  ancient  apostles  to  the  Gentiles^  and  its 
corrupting  effects  upon  the  simple  natives  of  Hindostan. 

6.  "  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marshman,"  says  H.  Newell,  "  have  large 
schools  of  English  and  half  English  children — about  eighty  in 
each  school  : — Mrs.  M.  has  a  lovely  school  of  English  young 
ladies,  where  they  are  instructed  in  einbroidery,  working  mus- 
lin, and  various  other  things.  There  is  a  charity  school  close 
by  Dr.  Carey's,  in  Calcutta,  supported  by  subscription,  mana- 
ged by  the  Baptist  Missionaries,  consisting  of  about  one  hun^ 
dred  Portuguese  children.*' 

Much  has  been  said  here  about  the  great  advantage  arising 
to  heathen  children  from  these  schools,  and  societies  have  been 
formed  in  this  country,  and  many  parents  have  constituted 
their  children  members  of  them,  contributing  each  from  half  a 
cent  to  a  cent  a  week,  to  aid  in  this  highly  interesting  concern. 
Now,  after  all  this,  these  contributors  must  feel  no  little  chagrin 
and  disappointment,  not  to  be  able  to  find,  by  Harriet  Newell's 
statement,  one  single  Hindoo  child  in  these  institutions  !  !  In 
the  place  of  a  charity  school  for  heathen  children,  here  is  a 
boarding  school  for  the  benefit  of  the  progeny  of  wealthy  En- 
glishmen, and  it  is  stated  that  Marshman's  wife  has  made  by 
her  school  in  a  few  years  the  enormous  sum  of  twenty  thousand 
pounds  sterling  !  Added  to  this,  we  find  these  Missionaries  or 
their  assistants  employed  in  teaching  the  arts  of  embroidery 
and  working  on  muslin.  Thus,  in  the  place  of  christianizinic 
the  heathen,  here  is  a  manufactory  of  articles  of  luxury,  in 
pamper  pride  and  vanity  ! 

7.  One  of  the  Missionaries  writes,  that  "  a  native  brother 
and  his  family  may  live  comfortably  for  sixty fve  doWArs  a  year, 
but  a  Missionary  with  a  thousand  dollars  a  year  will  often  find 
himself  straightened  I  In  order  that  the  reader  may  compre- 
hend the  cause  of  this  astonishing  difference  in  expense,  I  pre- 
sent the  following  account  of  their  mode  of  living,  transmitted 
by  one  of  the  Missionaries. 

*«  There  were  on  the  table  to  day,"  says  he,  "  a  loin  of  veal 
roasted,  a  joint  of  mutton,  a  kids-head  pie,  a  piece  of  smoked 


flitch,  a  piece  of  roasted  pork,  a  boiled  fowl,  a  hash  and  a  curry  ^ 
pea-soup,  potatoes,  picliled  limes,  purified  water,  claret,  brandy 
and  Madeii'a  wines  for  drink :  for  dcsscri,  a  poach  pie,  an  almond 
pudding,  ripe  mangoes,  plantains,  and  a  sort  of  plum  with 
preserves." 

We  have  heard  much  of  the  severe  labours  and  privations  of 
the  Missionaries  in  India,  but  when  \\e  read  the  ab(»ve  authen- 
tic accounts  of  the  *<  palaces"  they  inhabit,  their  *<  elegant 
gardens,"  and  the  luxury  of  their  tables,  it  gives  a  very  dif- 
ferent face  to  the  whole  affair.  The  impressions  hereby  made 
on  the  minds  of  the  natives  cannot  but  be  hostile  to  the  chris- 
tian system.  Their  own  priests  live  on  one  meal  of  nee  per 
day  ;  and  the  expense  of  their  keep  is  hut  sixty  dollars  or  less 
per  annum,  whilst  one  thousand  dollars  is  barely  sufficient  for 
one  of  our  self-denying  Missionaries  ! !  This  statement,  with  Dr, 
Carey's  salary  of  six  thousand  dollars  a  year,  reminds  us  of 
what  passed  between  captain  Riley,  and  a  Spanish  Missionary 
in  the  Moorish  domipions. 

"This  Padre,"  says  Riley,  "told  me  that  he  bad  lived  in 
Barbary  for  ten  years,  four  of  which  he  had  spent  at  Mogadore, 
three  at  Rabat,  and  three  here,  (Laresli)  secluded  from  the 
civilized  world  ;  that  the  court  of  Spain  allowed  a  large  pre- 
mium to  those  Padres  or  fathers  of  good  character,  to  be  ap- 
proved by  the  archbishop,  who  are  willing  to  spend  ten  years 
in  Barbary,  as  missionaries,  and  a  stipend  of  three  tliousand 
dollars  a  year  for  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  I  asked  him 
of  what  use  he  could  be  in  Barbary,  to  the  cause  of  Christianity, 
since  he  dare  not  even  attempt  to  convert  a  Moor  or  an  Arab, 
or  mention  the  name  of  the  Saviour  as  one  of  the  God-head,  to 
either,  or  even  to  a  Jew  ?  <  J^one  at  all,*  said  he,  «  but  still 
we  hear  the  name  of  missionaries  at  home  to  convert  the  hea- 
then:  our  allowance  of  money  is  ample;  we  live  7Vtll,  as  you 
see,  (he  was  indeed  fat  and  in  fine  order)  laugh  at  the  folly  of 
our  countrymen,  and  enjoy  the  present  as  well  as  we  can. 
When  these  ten  years  expire,  we  get  leave  to  return  to  our 
country,  where  we  are  received  as  patterns  of  piety,  that  have 
rendered  vast  services  to  the  christian  world ;  every  respectable 
house  is  open  to  receive  us ;  our  company  is  much  sought  after  ; 
our  yearly  salary  of  three  thousand  dollars  aflbrds  us  many 
gratifications  ;  and  for  this  ten  years  spent  in  such  privations 
and  severe  gospel  labours,  we  are  allowed  absolution  for  the  re- 
mainder of  our  lives.' "     Riley's  Narat.  p.  507. 

8.  One  of  the  missionaries  (Ward)  from  Serampore,  has  lately 
visited  this  country  on  a  begging  expedition;  j)reparatory  to 
which  he  issued  a  circular,  in  which  he  made  a  ranting,  highly 


40 

toioiii'cd  appeal  '<io  all  that  is  christian  in  the  United  States," 
to  aid  liim  witli  their  monetj,  in  tlie  institution  and  support  of 
a  college  to  teach  Latin  and  GreeJc  to  the  <*  native  evangelists.'' 
Now  to  christianize  the  world,  the  Jesuits  had,  as  before  men- 
tioned, no  less  than  six  hundred  of  such  establishments,  all  of 
which  were,  not  a  great  many  years  since,  "in  the  full  tide  of 
unsuccessful  experiment."  Where  are  they  now  ?  What  good 
have  they  done  ?  Afflavit  Deus  et  dissipatui :  the  wisdom  of 
man  is  foolishness  with  God.  He  hath  swept  them  with  the 
besom  of  destruction,  without  one  trace  being  left  of  their  bene- 
fit to  the  heathen  world  !  Still  this  one  college  at  Seramporeis 
to  evangelize  Hindostan  !  !  And  in  defiance  of  reason  and  ex- 
perience, the  "  holy  cunning"  of  this  missionary  has  added 
ten  thousand  dollars  to  his  funds !  Never  was  there  a  greater 
abuse  committed  upon  charity.  But  this  Jesuitical  scheme, 
like  the  English  boarding  school,  may  serve  to  enrich  the 
*'  triumvirate."  at  the  expense  of  our  credulous  citizens. 

9.  [n  no  place  have  missionary  labours  been  so  successful  in 
proselytijig  the  native  heathen  as  at  the  Society  Islands  in  the 
Pacific  ocean.  The  inhabitants  had,  however,  burnt  their  idols 
before  any  missionarij  had  arrived  among  them.  One  of  the  mis- 
sionaries writes  that  they  had  opened  a  singing  school,  and  adds : 
"  our  singing,  aided  by  the  bass  viol,  on  which  G.  P.  Tamoree 
played,  was  pleasing  to  the  natives,  and  will  probably  have  a 
salutarij  influence  in  winning  them  to  approve  and  to  engage  in 
christian  worship."  Here  is  displayed  the  genuine  Jesuitical 
mode  of  proselyting.  These  people  are  to  be  allured^  enticed 
into  religion — repentance  and  the  new  birth  is  to  be  effected  by 
the  sound  of  instrumental  music ;  tiie  pangs  of  regeneration 
promoted  by  the  pleasures  of  sense  !  !  In  the  missionary  labours 
of  our  Lord  and  the  apostles,  no  precept  is  furnished  for  the  use 
of  musical  instruments,  nor  the  opening  oi singing  schools.  Con- 
verts made  througli  such  a  viediuvi,  will,  like  those  of  the  Jesuits, 
isave  the  form  only,  but  must  remain  strangers  to  the  power  of 
ehristianity. 

These  simple  children  of  nature,  having  no  money  to  give 
the  missionaries,  they  have  begun  to  fleece  them  of  their  pro- 
duce, oil,  pigs,  and  arrow  root.  Thus,  a  missionary  writes, 
that  at  a  meeting  in  the  "  Royal  Mission  Chapel,  the  natives 
wcveurged  to  forward  their  intended  subscriptions  of  oil :" — and 
again,  "  the  whole  of  the  oil  collected  here  was  on  board,  and 
messengers  were  sent  to  different  parts  to  urge  the  natives  to 
forward  the  oil  in  their  possession: — again,  at  another  meeting, 
it  is  stated  :  "Tati  stood  up  and  exhorted  the  members  of  the 
society  to  bring  in  their  subscriptions  immediately."    Thus  at 


41 

every  meeting  the  qjiid  pro  q\io  is  a  grand  and  primary  object 
of  concern,  and  oil,  and  pigs,  and  arrow  root,  are  already  as 
closely  associated  with  religious  worship  in  those  islands,  as 
dollars  and  cents  are  in  the  United  States  !  ! 

10.  There  are  at  Calcutta  and  Serampore  fourteen  missiona- 
ries. One  of  tht'se  writes  from  Calcutta  :  "  We  have  to  lament 
that  the  work  of  conversion  does  not  keep  pace  toith  the  increase 
of  mtiiisters"  This  is  not  a  new  fact:  ecclesiastical  and  civil 
hjstory  warrant  the  assertion,  that  the  decrease  of  pure  religion 
has  been,  in  general,  in  a  direct  ratio  to  the  increase  of  an  edu- 
cated ministry.  On  this  point  Mosheim  says  :  "  We  see  from 
the  conversion  of  a  great  part  of  mankind  to  the  gospel  by  the 
ministry  of  weak  andilliterate  inen,  the  progress  of  Christianity 
is  not  to  be  attributed  to  human  means,  but  to  a  divine  power,** 
Vol.  i.  page  114. 

Now  the  means  which  you  use  to  prepare  men  for  this  work, 
such  as  the  teaching  them  the  dead  languages,  the  study  of  a 
fruitless,  barren  theology,  and  the  laying  on  of  hands,  are  alto- 
gether human  ;  they  all  stand  in  the  will  and  wisdom  of  man, 
which,  on  the  authority  of  Scripture  testimony,  and  the  expe- 
rience of  all  ages,  can  never  promote  the  righteousness  of  God, 

11.  One  of  the  missionaries,  in  speaking  of  the  church  in  the 
East  Indies,  says :  <«  In  consequence  of  the  removal  of  his 
majesty's  eighty-fourth  regiment,  our  numbers  have  been  al- 
most all  taken  away  from  us."  Here  we  have  a  Christian 
church  composed  of  men  who  follow  war  as  a  trade,  and  who 
are  actively  engaged  for  a  shilling  a  day,  or  less,  in  taking 
away  the  lives  of  the  natives  !  How  many  thousands  and  tens 
of  thousands  of  them  have  been  slain  by  Christian  hands  !  Their 
blood,  shed  by  the  professed  followers  of  Jesus,  has  enriched  the 
plains  of  Hindostan  !  Let  Andover,  and  Princeton,  and  all  your 
other  seminaries,  pour  forth  their  hosts ;  to  their  united  labours 
add  those  of  their  departed  brethren,  the  followers  of  Loyola; 
sum  up  the  fruits  of  past,  present,  and  future  zeal,  and  the 
whole  number  turned  from  the  worship  of  Brahma,  will  not 
amount  to  one  tenth  of  that  which  has  fallen  beneath  the  sw(»rds 
of  Christian  armies ! ! !  Yet  you  are  advocates  for  war.  (Vid. 
Conf.  of  Faith.)  Here  your  ministers  are  heard  pouring  f»rth 
their  prayers  to  the  Christian's  God  for  success  in  battle  : — for 
the  destruction  of  the  native  heathens  ;  there  your  missionaries 
are  urging  them  to  come  and  worship  at  his  altars  ! !  Are  you 
serious?  Do  you  expect  thus  to  convert  the  heathen  to  >our 
religion?  Ought  not  the  poor  Hindoo  to  quake  with  horror  at  the 
Christian's  God  ?  At  the  name  «>f  that  deity,  who  thus  sends  his 
professed  worshippers  to  execute  his  decrees  for  their  destruc- 


4S 

tion  ?  Can  a  greater  inconsistency  be  conceived  i — AVhilst  the 
earth  is  reeking  with  the  blood  of  heathens,  shed  by  the  pre- 
tended followers  of  Christ,  you  are  preaching  to  them,  this  same 
■Christ  as  their  only  Redeemer — that  he  died  for  them,  and  shed 
Lis  blood  for  their  salvation  ! ! ! 

This  is  not  the  picture  of  a  heated  imagination,  but  a  plain 
tale  sustained  by  facts  and  fair  induction  :  and  when  we  shift 
the  scenes  from  the  eastern  to  this  western  world,  it  is  but 
to  witness  another  tragedy,  and  to  feel  alike  the  annihilation 
of  all  rational  hope  of  benefit  from  your  missionary  labours 
among  the  aborigines  of  our  country. 

When  your  brethren  in  profession,  the  *'  Pilgrims,"  flying 
from  their  persecutors,  sought  an  asylum  in  New  England, 
they  came  2iS  fighting  Christians.  They  built  forts  and  pallisa- 
does ;  and  adopted  and  practised  on  the  system  that  every  man 
should  be  a  soldier.  The  poor  natives  observing  these  hostile 
movements,  prepared  to  defend  themselves,  and  a  war  of  exter- 
mination succeeded.  The  Indians,  according  to  their  savage 
customs,  treated  their  prisoners  with  great  cruelty.  The 
<«  Pilgrims"  in  this  respect  were  not  far  behind  them.  They 
beheaded  their  sachems,  killed  the  male  captives,  and  made 
slaves  of  the  women  and  children.  From  tliis  period  down 
to  Jackson's  war  of  exterminationf  the  blood  of  the  natives 
scarcely  has  had  time  to  dry  on  the  swords  of  Christians,  when 
new  murders  have  stained  them  afresh.  The  Christian  his- 
torians have  charged  all  this  to  the  account  of  savage  perfidy 
and  barbarity  ;  but  Indian  tradition  with  more  truth,  to  Chris- 
tian avarice  and  cupidity.  The  untutored  aborigines  have  no 
pen  to  record  their  tale,  but  there  is  one  highly  important 
historical  record  which  speaks  volumes  in  their  praise ;  one 
which  our  fighting  Christians  never  cite. 

Penn  and  his  brethren,  escaping,  like  your  *'  Pilgrims"  from 
the  persecution  of  an  *<  educated  ministry,"  landed  on  the 
shores  of  the  Delaware  among  the  same  "  savage,  perfidious 
barbarians."  But  they  presented  to  these  heathens  a  very 
different  front.  They  had  neither  sv/ords  nor  guns,  nor  palli- 
sadoes,  nor  forts,  nor  ammunition,  nor  sentinels,  nor  soldiers  : 
but  they  adopted  and  practised  the  maxim,  that  *'  every  man 
should  be,"  not  a  soldier,  but  "  a  Christian  .'"  Both  their  lan- 
guage and  their  conduct  spoke  peace  to  the  natives.  They 
openly  avowed  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  that  all  war  was  unlaw- 
ful, and  retaliation  no  tenet  of  the  Gospel.  What  was  the  re- 
sult of  this  truly  Christian  policy  ?  *<  The  wolf  dwelt  in  peace 
with  the  lamb,"  and  the  "  leopard  with  the  kid" — "  the  cow  and 
the  bear  fed  together,"  «  and  the  lion  ate  straw  like  the  ox !" 


43 


In  short,  no  Quaker*  who  settled  on  the  lands  purchased  hy  Wil- 
liam PenUf  was  ever  attacked  by  the  Indians.  Tlie  treaty  made 
between  Penn  and  these  savages,  "  was  the  only  treaty,"  says 
a  French  writer,  <»  that  was  ever  made  without  the  sanction  of 
an  oathf  and  the  only  one  that  never  was  broken  !  .'"  The  name 
of  Penn  is  still  had  in  honour  among  the  Delaware  Indians, 
and  they  have  more  confidence  in  his  brethren,  than  in  any 
other  people  upon  earth. 

Such  is  the  result  of  an  experiment,  of  which  the  world  has 
made  so  little  account,  because  it  stands  in  opposition  to  its 
maxims,  its  policy,  and  its  practice ;  '<  destroys  the  wisdom  of 
the  wise,  and  brings  to  naught  the  understanding  of  the  pru- 
dent." 

Let  us  now  inquire  how  far  the  labours  of  your  missionaries 
are  likely  to  be  useful  to  the  Indians,  under  the  recollection  of 
the  wrongs  which  they  have  suffered  ;  for,  although  they  have 
no  historian  to  hand  them  down,  yet  the  stream  of  tradition 
will  transmit  their  tale  of  woes,  suffered  from  the  Christians,  to 
their  remotest  posterity. 

1.  On  a  debate  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States,  on  the 
subject  of  a  grant  of  twelve  thousand  acres  of  land,  made  by 
Congress,  Anno.  1796,  to  the  society  of  United  Brethren  for 
propagating  the  Gospel  among  the  heathen.  Brown,  of  Ohio, 
stated  that  «  owing  to  massacre,  wars  and  dispersion,  together 
with  the  vices  usually  attending  a  degraded  community,  the 
Indians  in  that  region,  under  the  special  protection  of  the 
brethren,  have  dwindled  to  a  few  families,  comprehending  in 
all,  perhaps  twenty  individuals,  inhabiting  a  wretched  hamlet 
called  Goshen,  on  the  Tuscarawas  branch  of  the  Muskingum, 
exhibiting  an  appearance  of  squalid  wretchedness.  They  show 
no  symptoms  of  mental  improvement,  but  on  the  contrary, 
many  marks  of  their  degradation  appear  in  their  idleness, 
want,  and  habits  of  intoxication  among  the  men.  The  osten- 
sible object  of  the  missions  in  wliicli  Mr.  Heckewelder  spent 
above  forty  years,  has  totally  Jailed.'"  j 

2.  Extract  of  a  letter  written  by  general  James  Wilkinson 
to  Owen  Biddlc,  Philadelphia,  dated  Pittsburg,  Dec.  2i/,  1797  : 

"  My  late  intercourse  with  various  tribes  of  Indians  from 
this  neiglibourhood  to  Lake  Superior,  convince  me  that  the 

♦  No  Quaker,  knorun.  to  be  such,  was  ever  molested.  "  The  Indians  shot 
him  who  had  the  gun,"  says  Story  in  liis  Journal,  '*  and  when  they  knew  the 
young  man  they  killed  was  a  Quaker,  they  seemed  sorry  for  it,  but  blamed  turn 
for  carrying  a  gun.  For  they  knew  the  Quakers  would  not  fight,  or  do  th«in 
any  harm,  and  therefore  by  carrying  a  gun,  they  took  him  for  an  enemy. "- 
This  instance,  which  was  in  after  times^  confirms  still  more  strongly  all  tbkt 
has  been  said  on  this  subject,  Clsyrkson's  PortrjutiU'e,  vol.  iji,  p.  86. 
t  Franklin  Gazette. 


44 

corruptions  of  the  savages  are  derived  from  those  who  sttjle 
themselves  Christians^  because  the  further  removed  from  com- 
munication with  the  white  people,  the  more  honest,  temperate, 
and  industrious  I  have  found  them.  The  experiments  hereto- 
fore made  to  reform  the  Indian  character,  have  not  been  well 
adapted  to  the  object.  Our  missionaries  have,  in  general,  hern 
narrow  minded,  ignorant,  idle,  or  interested,  and  have  paid 
more  regard  to  forms  than  principles.  The  education  of  indi- 
viduals at  our  schools,  have  served  only  to  disgrace  us,  as  th<»se 
individuals  have  generally  turned  out  the  most  profligate  of  the 
nation  to  which  they  belonged.** 

3.  The  following  are  extracts  from  the  speeches  of  the  fa- 
mous Seneca  chief  Bed  Jacket  : 

♦♦  Brother — We  listened  to  the  talk  you  delivered  to  us 
from  the  council  of  Black  coats  in  New  York — in  making  up 
CUP  minds,  we  have  looked  hack  and  remembered  what  has  been 
done  in  our  days,  and  what  o^ir  fathers  have  told  us  was  done  in 
old  times. 

«*  Brother — Great  numbers  of  Black  coats  have  been  among 
the  Indians,  and  with  sweet  voices  and  smiling  faces,  have  of- 
fered to  teach  them  the  religion  of  the  white  people.  Our 
brethren  in  the  East  listened  to  them,  turned  from  the  religion 
of  their  fathers,  and  took  up  the  religion  of  the  white  people. 
AVhat  good  has  it  done  ?  Are  they  more  happy  and  more 
friendly  one  to  another  than  we  are  ?  No,  brother,  they  are 
a  divided  people— we  are  united — they  quarrel  about  religion — 
"we  live  in  love  and  friendship — they  drink  strong  waters — 
have  learnt  how  to  cheat,  and  practice  all  the  vices  of  the  white 
people,  which  disgrace  Indians,  without  imitating  the  virtues 
of  the  white  people.  Brother — If  you  are  our  well-wisher, 
keep  away  and  do  not  disturb  us.^* 

**  Brother — We  do  not  worship  the  Great  Spirit  as  the  white 
people  do.  But  we  believe  the  jfonjis  of  worship  are  indifferent 
to  the  Great  Spirit ;  it  is  the  homage  of  a  sincere  heart  that 
pleases  him,  and  we  worship  him  in  this  manner." 

In  another  speech,  this  shrewd,  penetrating  chief  says  : 

•*  Brother — Our  eyes  are  open  that  we  see  clearly — vou  say 
there  is  but  one  way  to  worship  the  Great  Spirit.  If  there  be 
but  one  religion,  why  do  you  white  people  differ  so  much  about 
it  ?     Why  not  all  agreed,  as  you  can  all  read  the  book  ? 

<*  Brother — We  have  been  told  that  you  have  been  preaching 
to  the  white  people  in  this  place  :  these  people  are  our  neigh- 
bours; we  are  acquainted  with  them  ;  we  will  wait  a  little 
while,  and  s<^e  w'-a*  fffict  your  preaching  has  upon  them  If 
"we  find  it  does  them  good,  makes  them  honest f  and  less  disposed 


4d 

to  cheat  Indians,  we  will  then  consider  again  of  what  you  have 
said." 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  this  chief,  through 
captain  Parish,  to  governor  Clinton,  and  by  him  transmitted  to 
the  legislature,  will  throw  additional  light  on  this  subject. 

"  The  first  object  to  which  he  would  call  the  attention  of  the 
governor,  is  the  depredations  that  are  daily  committed  by  the 
white  people,  upon  the  most  valuable  timber  on  our  Reserva- 
tions. This  has  been  a  subject  of  complaint  with  us  for  many 
years  ;  but  now,  and  particularly  at  this  season  of  the  year,  it 
has  become  an  alarming  evil,  and  calls  for  the  immediate  inter- 
position of  the  governor  in  our  behalf. 

**  Our  next  subject  of  complaint  is  the  frequent  thefts  of  our 
horses  and  cattle  by  the  white  people,  and  their  habit  of  taking 
and  using  them  whenever  they  please,  and  without  our  leave. 
These  are  evils  which  seem  to  increase  upon  us,  with  the  in- 
crease of  our  white  neighbours,  and  call  loudly  for  redress. 

"Another  evil  arising  from  the  pressure  of  the  whites  upon 
us,  and  our  unavoidable  communications  with  them,  is  the  fre- 
quency with  which  our  chiefs  and  warriors,  and  Indians  are 
thrown  into  Jail,  and  that  too,  for  the  most  trifling  causes. — In 
our  hunting  and  fishing  too  we  are  greatly  interrupted  by  the 
whites:  our  venison  is  stolen  from  the  trees — our  hunfing  camps 
fired  into,  and  wc  have  been  warned  that  we  shall  no  longer  be 
permitted  to  pursue  the  deer  in  these  forests,  which  were  so 
lately  all  our  own.  But  another  thing  recommended  to  us  has 
created  great  confusion  among  us,  and  is  making  us  a  quarrel- 
some and  divided  people,  and  that  is  the  introduction  of  preach- 
ers into  our  nation.  These  black  coats  contrive  to  get  the  con- 
sent of  some  of  the  Indians  to  preach  among  us,  and  whenever 
this  is  the  case,  confusion  and  disorder  are  sure  to  follow,  and 
the  encroachments  of  the  whites  upon  our  lands  are  the  invaria- 
ble consequences.  The  governor  must  not  think  Jiard  of  me 
for  speaking  thus  of  the  preachers.  I  have  observed  their  pro- 
gress, and  when  I  look  back  to  see  what  has  taken  place  of  old, 
I  perceive  that  whenever  they  came  among  the  Indians,  they 
were  the  forerunners  of  their  dispersion  :  that  they  always 
excited  enmities  and  quarrels  among  them  ;  that  they  intro- 
duced the  white  people  on  their  lands,  by  whom  they  were 
robbed  and  plundered  of  their  property,  and  that  the  Indians 
were  sure  to  dwindle  and  decrease,  and  be  driven  back,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  number  of  preachers  that  came  among  them. — 
Besides,  we  have  been  threatened  by  Mr.  Hyde  (one  of  your 
missionaries  from  New  York)  who  came  among  us  as  a  school 
master,  and  a  teacher  of  our  children,  but  has  now  become  a 


46 

black  coat,  and  refuses  to  teach  them  any  more,— that  unless  we 
listen  to  his  preaching,  and  become  Christians,  we  will  be  turn- 
ed off  our  lands.  We  shall  never  be  at  peace  while  he  is  among 
us.  There  are  now  eleven  white  families  living  on  our  Reser- 
vation at  Buffalo ;  this  is  wrong  and  ought  not  to  be  permitted. 
The  great  source  of  all  our  grievances  is  that  the  white  men 
are  among  us.  Let  them  be  removed  and  we  will  be  happy 
and  contented  among  ourselves." — «  We  now  cry  to  the  go- 
vernor for  help,  and  hope  that  he  will  attend  to  our  complaints, 
and  speedily  give  us  redress." 

Shortly  after  this  letter  became  public,  there  appeared  in 
the  Presbyterian  Magazine  under  the  head  of  "  Indian  Affairs," 
the  following  remarks  : 

The  author  in  alluding  to  the  aid  given  by  the  President  and 
Col.  M'Kinney  to  the  cause  of  missions,  says :  "  We  tender 
the  President  and  Col.  M<Kinney  our  hearty  thanks,  and  in 
so  doing  are  confident  that  we  express  the  gratitude,  not  only 
of  the  different  Presbyterian  churches  with  their  fifteen  hun- 
dred ministers  in  the  United  States,  but  of  all  the  Christian 
congregations  in  our  land.  We  have  heard  but  one  dissenting 
voice  indeed  from  any  quarter,  and  that  has  just  sounded  forth 
from  Red  Jacket,  one  of  the  Seneca  chiefs  in  the  state  of  New 
York.  We  strongly  suspect,  however,  that  Red  Jacket  has 
been  prompted  by  some  enemy  of  Christianity,  and  that  some 
insidious  infidel  indited  his  letter,  while  he  professed  to  act  only 
as  an  amanuensis  ;  or  else  that  the  chief  designed  to  please  his 
governor  by  following  his  fashion  of  attacking  the  administra- 
tion of  the  federal  government.  At  any  rate  the  letter  was 
transmitted  to  the  legislature  of  New  York  by  governor  Clin- 
ton, and  thus  has  come  before  the  world  j  when  he  might  have 
kept  it  on  the  files  of  state  for  his  own  private  information  or 
guidance.  If  Mr.  Clinton,  who  is  in  our  esteem  possessed  of 
a  powerful  mind  and  influence,  would  fill  the  chair  of  the 
Union,  we  would  advise  him  not  to  wound  the  feelings  of  the 
Christian  people  of  the  United  States,  by  giving  currency  to 
the  pagan  philosophy  of  Red  Jacket,  that  Christianity  would 
be  no  blessing  to  the  Indians.  If  this  Indian  chief  writes  to  in- 
form him,  that  the  President  wishes  the  Senecas  to  become 
Christians,  through  the  preaching  of  the  truth,  even  this  his 
excellency  governor  Clinton,  might  have  political  motives  for 
keeping  to  himself.  There  are  too  many  hundreds  of  Christian 
ministers  in  the  state  of  New  York,  for  Mr.  Clinton  to  succeed 
by  a  dead  set  against  them,  even  in  the  Red  Jacket,  and  with 
the  bow  and  arrows  of  an  Indian  chief  J' 


47 

The  Indran  chief  in  this  letter  complains  of  t!ic  ilcprcdationa 
committed  by  the  whites  upon  the  timber  of  his  subjects,  the 
Indians  J  the  stealing  of  their  property,  and  throwing  them 
into  jail  on  trifling  occasions.  Now  these  are  no  small  griev- 
ances, and  might,  properly  enough,  come  before  the  legislature 
of  the  state.  In  forwarding  the  letter,  therefore,  to  that  body, 
the  governor  acted  in  conformity  to  his  station,  and  only  dis- 
charged a  duty  required  of  him  by  the  Constitution  of  the  state. 
JBut  in  doing  so,  he  has,  incidentally,  made  some  exposures  not 
very  palatable  to  the  clergy  :  and  for  this,  the  influence  of  all 
your  fifteen  hundred  ministers  is  threatened,  to  destroy  his 
political  existence  ! !  Such  a  prostitution  of  ministerial  cha- 
racter— such  a  degree  of  priestly  arrogance,  is  without  a  pa- 
rallel under  our  republic !  Such  is  the  spirit  manifested  by 
men  professing  to  be  led  by  the  example,  and  to  teach  to  others 
the  humbling  precepts  of  a  meek  and  lowly  Saviour !  Had 
these  men  the  civil  power  on  their  side,  it  is  easy  to  discern 
what  the  fate  of  those  would  be,  who  should  fall  under  their 
displeasure  ! 

The  statement  made  by  Red  Jacket  in  this  letter^  is  the  same 
in  substance,  that  he  made  before  in  his  speeches  ;  that  it  was 
dictated  «*by  some  enemy  to  Christianity,"  is  therefore  an  idol 
fancy.     They  are  statements  and  conclusions  too,  which  are 
warranted  by  all  the  testimonies  which  we  have  advanced,  and 
will  be  corroborated  by  all  who  have  any  knowledge  and  pene- 
tration in  your  missionary  concerns  among  the  Indians.     But 
it  was  much  easier  to  issue  insulting  threats  against  governor 
Clinton,  and  to  setup  the  silly,  impotent,  clerical  cry  of  "  infi- 
del" against  Red  Jacket  and  his  supposed  *«  amanuensis,"  than 
to  have  refuted  the  charges  made  in  his  letter.     This  untutored 
Indian  sees  <*  clearly" — his  penetrating  eye  pierces  through 
the  <♦  black  coats,"  and  he  has  the  good  sense  of  the  country 
on  his  side,  in  believing  that  they  are  v/holly  destitute  of  tlie 
qualifications  necessary  to  reform  the  character  of  his  people. 
How  much  better  it  had  been  for  your  ministers  to  have  pro- 
fited by  his  instructions — returned  home,  and  conformed  them- 
selves in  the^rs^  place  to  the  precepts  of  the  «  book  ;"  learned 
to  "  walk  humbly,  love  mercy,  do  justice"  to  Indians,  and  then 
exerted  their  "  moral  influence"  upon  their  white  brethren, 
whose  avarice  and  cupidity  have  ever  been  prompting  them  to 
invade  the  rights  and  property  of  these  defenceless  people. 

The  question  at  issue,  is  not,  as  the  writer  in  the  Magazine 
would  fainly  make  believe,  whether  or  not  Christianity  would 
be  a  blessing  to  the  Indians  ?  No  one  doubts  this  :  but  whe- 
ther your  theologically  educated  ministers  arc  instruments 


48 

rightly  prepared  for  diffusing  it  among  them,  and  whether  past 
or  present  experience  furnishes  any  rational  ground  for  hope, 
that  they  will  succeed  in  it?  I  might,  if  it  were  necessary, 
add  many  facts  and  authorities  in  addition  to  those  already  ad- 
vanced, to  prove  the  negative  of  these  questions  ;  but  I  deem 
it  needless.  Before  I  dismiss  the  subject,  however,  I  will 
draw  the  attention  of  (he  reader  to  two  other  queries  :  Why  do 
these  men  manifest  so  much  acerbity  and  unbecoming  viru- 
lence towards  those  who  will  not  unite  with  them  in  their 
schemes  ?  And  why  are  they  induced  to  pursue  them  with  a 
zeal  so  unremitting,  and  under  auspices  so  unfavorable,  and 
with  such  an  overwhelming  mass  of  experience  against  them  ? 

The  following  extracts  from  a  pamphlet  on  Missions  by  John 
Taylor,  an  aged  Baptist  minister,  will  throw  some  light  on  this 
subject : 

«  About  eight  or  ten  years  past,"  says  the  author,  <«  and 
previous  to  any  Baptist  Missionary  Society  in  Kentucky,  two 
young  men  by  the  names  of  Mills  and  Schermerhorn,  being  on 
a  missionary  tour,  from  the  Preshyterian  board  of  missions  in 
the  East,  by  their  direction  were  to  travel  through  the  states  of 
Ohio,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  the  Natchez  settlements,  and 
New  Orleans,  and  then  return  to  the  board  who  sent  them, 
make  a  report,  by  a  faithful  journal,  of  all  the  Missionary  and 
Bible  Societies  they  had  formed,  all  the  money  they  had  col- 
lected, their  success  in  preaching,  &c.  They  were  at  my 
house  about  one  day  and  night.  They  gave  me  a  full  history 
of  the  ordination  and  mission  of  Messrs.  Judson  and  Rice,  and 
the  mighty  effect  it  had  on  the  people  of  JVew  England  ;  and  par- 
ticularly this  good  effect,  that  many  poor  ministers  could 
scarcely  get  their  bread  before,  but  by  stirring  up  the  people  in 
the  mission  cause,  and  getting  them  in  the  habit  of  giving  their 
money,  it  was  now  chetrfidly  comm^micated  by  thousands,  so  that 
ministers  who  staid  at  home,  were  now  richly  supplied.  They 
assured  me,  if  I  would  only  stir  up  the  people  to  missions  and 
Bible  Society  matters,  I  should  find  a  great  change  in  money  af- 
fairs in  favour  of  the  preachers  ;  urging  by  questions  like  this  : 
do  you  not  know  that  when  the  springs  are  once  opened,  they 
will  always  run  ?  Only,  said  they,  get  the  people  in  the  habit 
of  giving  their  money  for  any  religious  use,  and  they  will  con- 
tinue to  appropriate  for  all  sacred  purposes !" 

«  The  very  many  modes  and  artful  measures  of  those  great 
men  (missionaries)  to  get  money,  are  disgustful  to  common  mo- 
desty. They  begin  with  Missionary  Societies.  Then  they 
create  a  great  board  of  different  officers,  and  then  select  the 
most  vigorous  and  artful  agent  they  can  find,  to  create  more 


40 

societievS  of  difterent  grades,  as  Female  Societies,  Cent  Socie- 
ties, Mite  Societies,  (Jliildren  Societies,  and  even  Negro 
Societii  s,  both  fiee  and  bond,  besides  the  sale  of  books  of  va- 
rious kinds,  and  in  some  instances  the  sale  of  images.  Every 
missionary  in  a  foreign  country,  is  authorised  to  follow  all  these 
arts,  as  wtll  as  common  begging,  to  get  money,  so  that  no  set 
of  men  ever  yet  seen  on  the  earth,  manifest  a  greater  thirslby 
tlies*'  various  modes  of  peddling  to  get  money. — Their  shame- 
ful  cravings  are  insatiable.  How  very  difterent  are  the  cha- 
racters of  these  men  from  the  ancient  missionaries  of  the  cross 
of  Christ;  for  they  went  forth,  taking  nothing  from  the 
Gentiles." 

"  In  Missouri,"  continues  the  writer,  **the  missionaries 
pursue  all  the  shameful  measures  to  get  money  which  they 
adopt  in  otiier  countries,  though  a  new  frontier  country,  many 
of  the  people  poor,  and  all  of  them  straightened  for  necessaries. 
Their  shameful  trade  of  begging  disgusts  the  people  wherever 
they  go.  They  will  beg  for  money  for  the  interests  of  the  mis- 
sion— to  print  the  ♦♦  Luminary," — to  build  and  finish  their  fine 
meeting  house,  when  half  the  churches  in  the  country  have  no 
house  of  any  sort  to  worship  God  in.  They  will  beg  for  money 
to  educate  young  men  in  Dr.  Staughton's  Theological  School, 
to  make  more  missionaries.  They  will  beg  for  supplies  in 
their  own  families,  both  in  food  and  furniture ;  in  short,  their 
whole  trade  is  begging.' 

The  author  above  quoted,  from  his  station,  (a  minister)  had 
a  good  opportunity  of  knowing  the  real  character  of  many  of 
the  missionaries.  He  relates  several  anecdotes  of  some  of 
the  leading  men  among  them,  which  places  their  passion  for 
filthy  lucre,  fame,  or  power,  in  a  strong  point  of  view.  This 
is.  however,  no  new  thing.  A  volume  of  facts  might  be  selected 
from  history,  illustrating  the  mercenary  character  of  a  hireling 
priesthood  in  every  age.  One  occurs  to  me  which  I  will  men- 
tion. In  Virginia,  previous  to  the  revolution,  the  Baptists  and 
Quakers  who  came  into  that  state  to  preach  the  gospel,  were 
cruelly  persecuted  by  the  Episcopalians.  Now  at  this  time 
there  was  a  law  of  the  state,  granting  to  the  latter  an  annual 
stipend  of  sixteen  thousand  pounds  sterling  in  tobacco.  This 
law  was  afterwards  repealed  ;  and  what  followed  ?  These  zealous 
defenders  of  orthodoxy  deserted  their  churches,  and  left  the  ark 
of  their  God  in  the  hands  of  the  Philistines  !  ! 

Now,  the  zeal  manifested  by  your  ministers,  according  to  the 
ingenuous  confession  of  Mills  and  Schermerhorn.  rests  much  on 
the  same  foundation  as  that  of  the  orthodox  clergy  of  Virginia. 
•*  Only  stir  up  the  people  to  Mission  and  Bible  Society  matters,'' 


50 

say  these  missionaries,  "  and  there  will  be  a  great  change  i« 
money  matters  in  favour  of  the  preachers  at  home."  *'  The 
mission  of  Judson  and  Rice  had  a  <'  mighty  effect  on  the  people 
of  New  England,"  money  is  ♦'  now  communicated  by  thou- 
sands." The  people  are  "  brought  into  the  habit  of  giving 
their  money."  "  The  springs  once  opened  will  always  run 
for  all  sacred  purposes" — and  "  preachers  at  home"  will  be 
"  richly  supplied."  Here  we  have  a  clue  by  which  to  com- 
prehend the  overflowing  zeal— the  rage  manifested  by  these 
men,  against  all  who  are  averse  from  their  schemes.  Thus  your 
minister  fears  that  the  influence  of  the  Quakers  will  tend  to 
dry  up  those  precious  "  springs^'  which  are  now  running  so 
freely  ;  his  indignation  is  thereby  kindled- — even  those  eternal 
decrees,  which  he  stands  pledged  to  maintain,  are  but  a  se- 
condary consideration,  and  filled  with  ire,  he  exclaims  :  "  The 
perdition  of  the  heathen  lies  not  on  God,  but  on  your  Society 
and  the  other  enemies  of  missions.  God  is  unwilling,  but  you 
are  willing  the  heathen  should  perish.  You — you  withhold 
from  him  the  means  of  salvation,  and  doom  the  heathen  to  de- 
struction ! !"    Repository,  vol  ii.  No.  1. 

**The  genuine  spirit  of  missions  is  ^le  true  spirit  of  the 
gospel,"  say  the  committee  of  the  American  board.  "  It  was 
the  spirit  of  missions,"  echoes  your  minister,  *'  that  brought  a 
Saviour  into  our  world."  This  position  I  freely  grant ;  but  let 
us  compare  this  "  true  spirit  of  the  gospel"  with  the  spirit  of 
modern  missions. 

1.  Christ  in  sending  forth  his  disciples  commanded  them  to 
take  neither  purse,  nor  scrip  :  but 

To  prepare,  to  equip,  and  to  land  each  missionary,  in  our 
day,  costs  the  British  (and  no  doubt  the  American)  public  six 
hundred  pounds,  or  two  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty-six  dol- 
lars, and  from  one  thousiind  to  six  thousand  dollars  per  annum, 
afterwards.     Vid.  Ch.  Repos.  vol.  i.  page  165. 

2.  Christ  commanded  his  disciples  to  salute  no  man  by  the 
tvay  ;  but 

Our  modern  missionaries  on  the  contrary,  salute  those  they 
meet,  with  the  cry  of  money  !  money ! 

3.  Our  Lord's  missionaries,  on  returning,  reported  that  they 
had  lacked  nothing  ;  but 

Our  moderns,  (take  Ward  and  Rice  for  examples)  report, 
that  they  have  lacked  many  things,  and  their  cry  is  still  mo- 
ney !  money  ! 

4.  The  apostles  of  Jesus  declared  that  even  the  devils  were 
subject  unto  them  j  but 


5i 

Those  in  our  day,  exhibit  strong  marks,  that  they  arc,  them- 
selves subject  to  the  demons,  Pride,  Avarice,  and  Ambition. 

5.  The  missionaries  of  our  Lord  were  sent  out  as  "  iambs 
among  wolves ;"  but 

Ours  appear  rather  as  wolves  among  lambs,  fleecing  their 
flocks,  and  still  crying  money  !  money  !  whilst  their  Christian 
brethren,  are  engaged  in  slaughtering  thousands  of  those 
amongst  whom  they  are  sent! !  Leaving  the  reader  to  extend 
the  contrast  at  his  leisure,  I  proceed  to  notice,  briefly,  the 
subject  of 

BIBLE  SOCIETIES. 

These  societies  are  often  composed  of  discordant  materials. 
Professor  and  profane ;  faithless  and  believing ;  those  who 
read  and  those  who  reject  the  Bible,  if  they  have  but  money, 
and  are  willing  to  part  with  it,  are  acceptable  members.  To  be 
handsomely  noticed  in  the  papers;  to  receive  votes  of  thanks j 
popularity  ;  fame  ;  all  have  their  weight  in  drawing  together 
these  associations.  These  motives  act  with  peculiar  force  upon 
the  female  portion  of  the  community  ;  and  thus  your  ministers, 
playing  the  part  of  father  Cotton  with  the  *'  Parisian  ladies," 
have  taken  hold  of  the  vanity  of  the  sex,  and  are  using  it  as  an 
immense  engine  to  promote  their  own  power  and  influence.  All 
this  is  too  palpable  to  need  illustration.  If  such  combinations, 
founded  on  such  a  basis  can  advance  the  Redeemer's  kingdom^ 
our  moderns  may  boast  of  having  discovered  the  secret  of  re- 
conciling the  most  glaring  contradictions ;  of  accomplishing 
ends  by  opposite  means ;  means  equally  at  war  with  right 
reason,  Scripture,  and  all  former  experience. 

In  order  to  unite  all  denominations  in  this  work,  the  Bibles 
published  by  these  societies  are  without  comments.  This  is  very 
well  in  itself.  The  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion  were 
originally  adapted  and  delivered  to  the  most  simple  and  illiterate. 
They  required  no  expounders  nor  interpreters  then ;  neither 
do  they  now.  The  meanest  capacity  can  now,  as  then,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  fully  understand  and  profit  by  them.  All  the 
researches  of  human  learning  and  human  wisdom,  have  only 
tended  to  "  darken  council  by  words  without  knowledge,"  to 
obscure  the  meaning,  and  impair  the  usefulness  of  these  divine 
productions.  But  the  great  objection  intended,  ostensibly  to  be 
removed,  by  printing  this  book  without  comments,  still  remain*. 
It  is  put  into  the  hands  of  your  theologians,  to  be  carrfed  to 
the  heathen,  and  is  thus  accompanied  by  living,  or  rather 
speaking  commentators,  whose  interpretations  and  comments 
are  not  less  divtrscy  confused,  and  contradictor ij,  than  those 
which  are  written. 


The  Bible  Avas,  at  one  periotl,  wrested  by  the  clergy  out  of 
the  hands  of  the  people, — to  read  it  was,  to  an  <'  illiterate  head," 
a  capital  offence.  IMiis,  among  the  many  bold  strokis  of 
priestcraft,  was  one  of  the  bohlest.  It  was  resorted  to  under 
the  flimsy  pretext  of  preventing  heresy  and  schism^  (the  watch 
words  of  the  priesthood  in  every  age,)  but,  in  fact,  intended  to 
render  the  people  wholly  dependent  on  the  clergy  for  tlieir  re- 
ligion, which  the  latter  were  thus  enabled  to  deal  out  to  them 
on  their  own  conditions.  ^ 

By  the  irresistible  influx  of  light  and  knowledge,  this  spe- 
cies of  clerical  policy  is  now  exploded;  but  your  theologi-^ns, 
who  are  never  at  a  loss  for  expedients,  have  invented  another, 
which  is  now  in  the  full  tide  of  successful  experiment,  and  if 
permitted  to  go  into  complete  operation,  will  equally  subserve 
their  ambitious  views  This  scheme  has  its  foundation  on  the 
good  old  Catholic  aphorism^  that  «<  Religion  is  the  last  thing  thai 
ought  to  be  entrusted  to  the  heads  oj  ignorant  ?new."  Now  if  the 
people  can  only  be  brought  to  believe  this,  the  object  of  your 
ministers  will  be  nearly  accomplished.  A  happier  thought  could 
not  havR  been  conceived  ;  and  it  ought,*  I  think,  to  be  engra- 
ven upon  the  escutcheons  of  every  individual  of  the  Levitical 
tribe,  and  inscribed  in  letters  of  brass  upon  the  doors  of  every 
apartment  in  your  theological  schools.  Now  as  this  principle 
is  likely  to  spread  and  become  generally  acknowledged,  we 
need  not  be  surprised  to  find  the  clergy  forward  in  promoting 
Bible  Societies,  contrary  to  their  former  practice  :  for  by  this 
means  their  empire  will  be  extended  ;  the  people,  indeed,  will 
have  the  Bible,  but  they  are  not,  under  the  operation  of  this 
principle,  to  look  there  for  their  religion^  "  it  is  the  last  thing," 
you  say,  <"  that  ought  to  be  entrusted  to  their  illiterate  heads  ;" 
and  the  only  difference  between  Catholicism  and  Protestant- 
ism, is,  that  our  religion  is  transferred  for  *«  holy  keeping" 
from  the  cloister  to  the  seminarif.  This  is  the  grand  Membic 
where  it  is  prepared,  and  the  "  poor,  pious  young  men''  are 
the  receivers 'And  retailers;  and  if  we  do  not  choose  to  pay  them 
well  for  it,  we  may  go  without  it,  and  incur  the  odium  and 
ignominy  attached  to  heretics  and  infidels  ! ! 

There  is  but  one  thing  wanting  in  this  splendid  scheme  to 
fill  up  the  measure,  if  that  be  possible,  of  ministerial  ambition, 
an«l  that  is  to  bring  the  civil  power  j  inio  the  scheme.  This  grand 

*  I  am,  I  think,  aware  of  the  danger  of  this  weapon,  and  especially  in  treat- 
ing of  a  serious  subject.  But  the  prophet  Elijah  resorted  to  it  in  a  case  similar 
to  the  one  before  me  ;  and  I  can  herein  adopt  the  language  of  Juvenal :  "  Di- 
ficile  est  fatirum  non  scribere." 

t  I  shall  hereafter  prove  that  the  Presbyterians  bare  been  endeavouring  to 
effect  this  object. 


53 

ilesideratiim  once  accomplished,  the  secular  arm  once  enlisted 
on  youi"  side,  and  Ihc  people  will  then  be  conipdied  to  pay  for 
preaclung,  whether  good  or  bad,  and  on  such  terms  as  priestly 
avarice  may  choose  to  impose. 

Does  nut  past  experience  justify  the  conclusion,  that  the  Bible 
in  the  hands  of  your  theologians,  will  be  of  no  benefit,  but  rather 
an  injury  to  the  heathen  ?  Take  a  survey  of  Christendom,  and 
behold  the  tiiousand  sects  by  which  they  have  divided  and  dis- 
tracted it.  Consult  ecclesiastical  iiistory ;  r&ad  the  contentions, 
strifes,  wranglings,  persecutions,  massacres,  and  burnings, 
Avhich  had  their  beginnings,  from  the  moment  preaching  be- 
came a  traffic  and  theology  a  science  !  From  thirty  to  fifty 
millions  of  souls  have  first  and  last  been  sacrificed,  for  their 
opinions  only,  at  the  instigation  of  theological  hirelings,  with 
the  Bible  in  their  hands  as  their  death  warrant  1 1  And  no  one 
can  tell  when  these  horrid  scenes  would  have  closed,  had  not 
the  civil  power — had  not  those  <*  illiterate  heads"  who  are 
<*  not  to  be  entrusted  with  religicm,"  stept  in  between  these 
Right  Reverend  gentlemen,  and  thus  stopt  them  from  ctttting 
each  others  throats  !  ! ! 

Abstract  the  labours  of  Peter,  and  John,  and  Luke,  and 
Matthew,  and  Paul,  who,  although  a  theologian,  laid  it  all 
aside,  esteeming  <*  it  as  dross  and  dung,"  and  other  disinterested 
worthies,  down  to  the  present  day,  whose  illiterate  heads,  like 
those  of  the  disciples,  were  strangers  to  your  theology  ;  abstract 
the  labours  of  such  men  as  these,  and  what  have  we  left?  A 
mass  of  lumber  made  up  of  discordant  creeds  and  catechisms, 
and  divinty  ;  and  all  well  supported  by  an  ample  practical  com- 
mentary which  the  reader  will  find  in  the  «  Book  oj Martyrs.''' 

What  the  gospel  will  effect  among  the  heathens,  under  the 
spurious  garb  of  unavailing  rights  and  ceremonies^  has  already 
been  tried  on  an  extensive  scale,  as  I  have  shown,  by  the  Ca- 
tholics. The  gods  of  the  east  bowed  down  for  a  time,  but  it 
was  only  to  rise  again  with  renewed  vigor.  Why  repeat  the 
hopeless  experiment  ?  Has  the  shedding  of  rivers  of  their  blood. 
by  the  professors  of  Christianity,  opened  the  way  for  its  intro- 
duf'tion  ?  Or  do  you  argue  that  the  religion  your  ministers  now 
offer  them  is  the  true,  whilst  that  of  the  Catholics  was  the  false 
religion  ?  1  answer,  they  are  essentially  the  same.  What  dif- 
ference to  the  heathen,  whether  the  Eucharist  be  presented  to 
him  under  the  notion  of  a  con  or  a  ifrans-substantiation  ?  Whe- 
ther his  ablutions  be  performed  in  the  sacred  waters  of  his  own 
native  streams,  or  under  the  con.secraferf /orrns  of  Catholic  or 
Protestant  administration?  Tn  short,  whether  his  religion  be 
meted  out  to  him  from  the  Cloister  or  the  Seminary  ?   The  re- 


51 

suit  is  the  same,  he  is  a  proselyte  to  empty  foi*ms  nierely.  But 
there  is  an  evil  of  no  small  magnitude  which  will  grow  out  of 
these  abortive  schemes;  the  time  will  thereby  be  rendered 
more  remote^  than  if  they  had  not  been  tried,  when,  by  the 
preaching,  "  in  the  demonstration  of  the  spirit,"  of  another 
Peter  or  a  Paul,  that  God  whom  the  heathen  now  ignorantly 
worships,  shall  be  more  fully  revealed  to  him,  as  a  Being  who 
is  every  where  present, — a  God  "in  whom  he  lives,  and  moves, 
and  has  his  being." 

Many  more  reasons  might  be  offered  in  answer  to  the  charge 
made  by  your  minister  against  the  Quakers  and  others,  for 
refusing  to  join  your  Missionary  and  Bible  Societies  :  but  as 
the  subject  is  necessarily  more  or  less  interwoven  with  those 
matters  of  which  I  am  yet  to  treat,  I  will  close  this  letter,  and 
take  my  leave. 


LETTER  III. 


OF  PRESBYTERIAN  DOCTRINE. 


"  Physician  heal  thyself.''^ — New  Testament. 

*'  Choose  you  this  day  whom  ye  will  serve." — "  I  have  set  before  you  life  and 
-death,  blessing  and  cursing  ;  Uierefore  choose  Ufe.»» 

Josh,  xxiv,  15 — Deut,  xxx.  19. 

ANY  person  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  peruse  the  Pres- 
byterian publications  of  the  present  day,  cannot  fail  to  discern 
that  great  exertions  are  making  to  propagate  and  extend  your 
principles  throughout  the  United  States.  I  shall  hereafter 
show  that  you  have  carried  your  views  so  far  on  this  subject, 
as  to  aim  at  a  religious  establishment,*  hy  aunion  of  church  and 
state^  to  be  achieved  through  the  medium  of  your  colleges  and 
seminaries.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note,  that  the  missionaries 
sent  out  sometime  ago  by  the  Presbyterian  Board,  to  *»  spy  out 
the  nakedness  of  the  land  ;"  to  make  an  estimate  of  the  number 
of  ministers  that  were  wanting^  and  for  other  purposes,  passed 
over  the  Baptist,  Methodist^  and  Quaker  preachers,  as  unworthy 
of  note.  "  Thus  we  see,"  says  Taylor  in  his  Thoughts  on  Mis- 
sionSf  "  how  far  truth  is  sacred  to  these  missionary  men,  speak- 
ing of  a  county  as  almost  a  blank  as  to  religion,  which  contains 
upwards  of  thirty  Baptist  cliurches,  and  at  least  twenty- four 
ordained  preachers."  Added  to  this,  your  writers  and  preachers, 
through  the  pulpit  and  the  press,  are  endeavouring  to  cast  an 
odium  upon  the  doctrines  of  other  religious  professions.  No 
further  apology,  therefore,  is  deemed  necessary,  for  bringing 
feefore  the  public,  at  the  present  moment,  a  concise  view  of  the 
master-tenets  of  your  own  creed  ;  with  the  very  important  en- 
quiry, how  far  their  practical  operation,  with  or  without  the 
aid  of  the  civil  power,  as  tested  by  former  experience,  will  be 
likely  to  add  to  the  present  happiness,  or  to  brighten  the 

♦  See  the  communications  of  Ignatius  Thomson  in  the  Fourth  Letter. 


a6 

future  prospects  of  our  republic.  In  prosecuting  the  inquiry,  1 
shall  adopt  a  very  different  course  from  that  whirh  n  our  minister 
has  adopted  in  the  Repository:  1  shall  aAtluce testimony. ani\  state 
the  premises  on  which  my  conclusions  are  foundt  d  ;  hencr,  if  I 
sliould  fall  into  errors,  the  impartial  reader  will  be  enabled  to 
detect  them,  and  do  you  justice. 

The  most  prominent  feature,  and  that  which  fixes  ti»e  cha- 
racter of  your  system,  and  arrests  the  mind  of  every  inquirer, 
is  the  doctrine  commonly  styled 

PREDESTINATION. 

The  principles  of  predestination,  or  unconditional  election 
and  reprobation,  are  grounded  upon  the  eternal  decrees  of  God, 
as  laid  down  in  your  "  Confession  of  Faith,"  and  to  which  I 
shall  presently  advert.  This  doctrine  of  thr  decrees,  is  the 
same,  essentially,  as  that  o(  necessity,  or  fate  ;  the  latter  term 
being  derived  from  the  word  effatum,  i.  e.  a  decree  pronounced 
by  God.  We  find  nothing  of  it  in  the  Christian  church,  until 
the  fifth  century,  when  Augustine  in  his  contest  with  Pelagius, 
dropt,  incautiously,  some  expressions  which  were  afterwards 
taken  hold  of  by  Dominicus,  a  friar,  and  the  monks  of  his  or- 
der ;  and  being  at  a  later  period,  improved  on  by  John  Calvin, 
the  system  has  from  him  received  the  name  of  Calvinism. 

This  doctrine  prevails  among  some  of  the  heathen  nations, 
muler  the  tevm  fate.  It  occupies  a  distinguished  place  in  the 
Mahometan  creed  :  but  I  know  of  no  Christian  sect,  but  yours, 
if  we  except  the  Baptists,  who  manifest  any  partiality  towards 
it  at  this  day.  The  following  quotations,  made  from  your  most 
noted  Calvinistic  writers,  will  present  to  the  reader  a  compre- 
hensive view  of  this  article  of  your  faith. 

*•  I  say  that  by  the  ordination  and  will  of  God,  Adam  fell. 
God  would  liave  man  to  fall.  Man  is  blinded  by  the  will  and 
commandment  of  God.  We  refer  the  cause  of  hardening  us 
to  God.  Every  action  and  motion  of  every  creature  is  so  go- 
verned by  the  bidden  council  of  God,  that  nothing  can  come  to 
pass,  but  what  was  ordained  by  him  :  they  are  so  governed  by 
the  will  of  God,  that  they  are  carried  on  straight  to  the  mark 
which  he  has  foreordained."     Calv.  Instit. 

**  God  hath  predestinated  not  only  unto  damnation,  but  also 
unto  the  causes  of  it."  "  The  decree  of  God  cannot  be  ex- 
cluded from  the  causes  of  corruption."     JBesa. 

"  It  is  certain  that  God  is  the  first  cause  of  obduration. — 
Reprobates  are  held  so  fast  under  God  Almighty's  decree,  that 
they  cannot  but  sin  and  perish."     Zanchius. 


57 

"  It  is  tire  opinion  of  our  doctors,  tiiat  God  did  inevitably 
decree  the  temptation  and  fall  of  man.  The  creature  indeed 
sinneth  necessarily,  by  the  most  just  judgment  of  God.  Our 
men  do  most  rightly  affirm  that  the  fall  of  man  was  necessary 
and  inevitable,  because  of  God's  decree."     Par(eus» 

*«  Reprobate  persons  are  absolutely  ordained  to  this  two-fold 
end,  to  undergo  everlasting  punishment  and  necessarily  to 
sin,  and  therefore  to  sin  that  they  may  be  justly  punished." 
Piscator. 

*«  God  procures  cursings,   adulteries,  lyings." 

«  God  doth  incline  and  force  the  wills  of  wicked  men  into 
great  sins.  He  supplies  v/icked  men  with  opportunities  of  sin- 
ning, and  induces  their  hearts  thereto.  He  blinds,  deceives, 
and  seduces  them.  He,  by  his  working  on  their  hearts,  bends 
and  stirs  them  up  to  do  evil."     P.  Martyr. 

*f  God  moveth  the  robber  to  kill.  He  killeth,  God  forcing 
him  thereunto.  The  devil  and  wicked  men  are  so  held  in  on 
every  side,  by  the  hand  of  God,  that  they  cannot  conceive,  or 
execute  any  mischief,  any  further  than  God  himself  doth  not 
only  permit  but  command.  Nor  are  they  only  held  in  fetters, 
but  compelled  also,  as  with  a  bridle,  to  perform  obedience  to 
those  commands."     Zuinglius, 

*<  God  moves,  excites,  and  stirs  up  men  to  do  that  which  is 
evil,  and  puts  sin  into  the  heart  by  a  positive,  creative  influ- 
ence."    HopkinSf  a  modern. 

"  God  knew  that  no  motives  would  be  sufficient  to  form  Pha- 
raoh's moral  character ;  he  therefore  determined  to  operate  in 
his  heart  itself,  and  to  cause  him  to  put  forth  certain  evil  voli- 
tions, in  view  of  certain  external  motives."  Emmons,  a 
modern. 

Such  is  an  outline  of  the  doctrine  of  predestination  :  a  doc- 
trine which  you  have,  endeavoured,  as  far  as  your  power  ex- 
tended, in  time  past,  to  force  upon  mankind  by  various  acts  of 
cruel  persecution.  Thus  the  Armenians  in  Holland,  having 
struck  the  decrees  out  of  their  creed,  because  they  found  them 
irrational  and  unscriptural,  brought  on  a  persecution  from  the 
Calvinists,  which  they  kept  up  for  a  number  of  years.  In 
England,  imprisonment  was  threatened  by  an  act  of  the  Pres- 
bylerian  ]iarliamcnt,  to  such  as  maintaincdt  *'  that  man,  by  na- 
ture, hath  free  will  U)  turn  to  GoiV  Y id.  JV'eal's  History,  vol. 
iii.  p.  497.     Mosheim,  vol.  v.  chap.  iii. 

if  the  truth  of  the  aforesaid  premises  be  admitted,  it  follows 
necessarily  that  God  is  the  sole  author  and  instigator  of  all  the 
sins  of  men.  To  every  one  but  a  Calvinist,  this  is  demonstra- 
ble.    If  God  forceth  the  robber  to  kill ;  procures  adulteries, 

H 


58 

cursings  and  lyings  ;  supplies  wicked  men  with  opportunities 
of  sinning;  bends  and  stirs  them  up  to  do  evil,  so  that  they 
cannot  conceive,  or  contrive,  or  execute  any  mischief  but  by 
his  commands  : — If  God,  I  say,  does  all  this,  and  is  not  to  be 
reputed  the  grand  cause  of  all  wickedness  ;  the  most  cruel  and 
malicious  Being  of  which  the  human  mind  can  form  any  con- 
ception, then  words  have  lost  their  use  and  meaning,  and 
ceased  to  represent  ideas  ! ! 

To  deny  this  blasphemous  imputation  on  the  moral  character 
of  the  Deity,  as  an  unavoidable  result  of  predestination,  is  to 
put  all  rational  induction  at  defiance ;  it  is  to  deny  any  self- 
evident  proposition — as,  that  man  is  a  thinking  being,  or  that 
the  sun  shines  in  the  heavens.  I  am  aware  that  you  pretend 
to  discard  the  authors  I  have  quoted,  as  somewhat  out  of  date, 
or  not  altogether  orthodox  on  this  subject.  I  will  reply  to  this 
evasion,  by  appealing  to  "  The  Constitution  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,"  revised  and 
republished  so  late  as  the  year  1821.  In  the  "  Confession  of 
Faith"  contained  therein,  I  find  the  following  articles  : 

1.  <*  God  from  all  eternity  did,  bj  the  most  wise  and  holy 
counsel  of  his  own  will,  freely  and  unchangeably  ordain  what- 
soever comes  to  pass."     Chap.  iii.  Art.  1. 

2.  <*By  the  decree  of  God  for  the  manifestation  of  his  glory, 
some  men  and  angels  are  predestinated  unto  everlasting  life, 
and  others  foreordained  to  everlasting  death."  Chap.  iii. 
Art.  3. 

3.  *♦  These  angels  and  men,  thus  predestinated  and  foreor- 
dained, are  particularly  and  unchangeably  designed  ;  and  their 
number  is  so  certain  and  definite,  that  it  cannot  be  either  in- 
creased or  diminished."     Chap.  iii.  Art.  4. 

4.  *♦  Those  of  mankind  that  are  predestinated  unto  life, 
God,  before  the  foundation  of  the  world  was  laid,  according  to 
his  eternal  and  immutable  purpose,  and  the  secret  counsel  and 
good  pleasure  of  his  will,  hath  chosen  in  Christ  unto  everlast- 
ing glory,  out  of  his  mere  free  grace  and  love,  without  any 
foresight  of  faith  or  good  works,  or  perseverance  in  either  of 
them,  or  an>  other  thing  in  the  creature,  as  conditions,  or 
causes  moving  him  thereunto,  and  all  to  the  praise  of  his  glo- 
rious grace."     Chap.  iii.  Art.  5. 

5.  "  As  God  hath  appointed  the  elect  unto  glory,  so  hath  he, 
by  the  eternal  and  most  free  purpose  of  his  will,  foreordained 
all  the  means  thereunto"—"  neither  are  any  other  redeemed 
by  Christ,  effectually  called,  justified,  adopted,  sanctified  and 
saved,  but  the  elect  cmly.'*     Chap.  iii.  Art.  6. 

6.  «  The  rest  of  mankind  God  was  pleased  according  to  the 


59 

unsearchable  counsel  of  liis  own  will,  whereby  he  extcndeth  or 
withholdcth  mercy  as  he  picaseth,  for  the  glory  of  his  sove- 
reign power  over  his  creatures,  to  pass  by  and  to  ordain  them, 
to  dishonour  and  wrath  for  their  sin,  to  the  praise  of  his  glorious 
justice."     Ch.  iii.  7. 

7.  "  By  the  decree  of  God  all  things  come  to  pass  immutably 
and  infallibly."     Ch.  v.  2 

8.  •*  God  did  from  all  eternity  decree  tojustify  all  the  elect."* 
Chap.  xi.  1. 

9.  *•  As  for  those  wicked  and  ungodly  men  wliom  God  as  a 
righteous  judge,  for  former  sins,  doth  blind  and  harden^  from 
them  he  not  only  withlnddeth  his  grace,  whereby  they  might 
have  been  enlightened  in  their  understandings,  and  wrought  upon 
in  their  hearts  ;  but  sometimes  also  withdraweth  the  gifts  which 
they  had."     Ch.  v.  6. 

10.  '*  From  this  original  corruption,  we  are  utterly  indis- 
posed, disabled,  and  made  opposite  to  all  good,  and  wholly 
inclined  to  all  evil."     Ch.  vi.  4. 

The  above  articles  furnish  us  with  the  views  of  morfcrn  Pres- 
byterians on  predestination  ;  and  I  think  it  may  be  demon- 
strated, that  ground  is  hereby  furnished  to  sustain  all  that  I 
have  quoted  from  Calvinistic  writers  on  the  subject. 

In  looking  at  the  moral  state  of  the  world,  it  is  manifest, 

*  Election  and  irresistable  grace,  are  the  grand  features  of  the  Antinomian 
creed  :  "  As  the  elect,**  they  say,  "  cannot  fall  from  grace,  nor  forfeit  the  di- 
vine favour,  so  it  fellows,  that  the  wicked  actions  they  commit,  and  the  viola- 
tions of  the  divine  law,  with  which  they  are  chargeable,  are  not  really  sinful, 
nor  are  to  be  considered  as  instances  of  their  departing  from  the  law  of  God  ; 
and  that  consequently,  they  have  no  occasion,  either  to  forsake  their  sins,  or  t« 
break  them  off  by  repentance.' » — Moah,  vol.  v.  p   412. 

"  They  maintain  that  the  elect  cannot  possibly  do  any  thing  displeasing  to 
(iod,  and  that  consequently  no  sins,  however  monstrous,  would  at  all  impair 
or  endanger  their  everlasting  blessedness." — Grant  s  Siwimari/,  vol.  ii.  p.  499. 

Now  1  see  no  essential  difference  between  the  Antinomian  and  Presbyterian 
creeds  ;  they  agree  in  the  following  particulars  ; 

1.  The  elect  cannot  fall  from  grace. 

3.  "  They  have  no  occasion,  agreeably  to  either  doctrine,  to  forsake  their 
sins,  or  to  break  them  off  by  repentance,"  because  "  God  did,  from  all  eter- 
nity, decree  tojustify  all  the  elect  " 

3.  Consequently  no  sins,  agi-eeably  to  the  doctrine  of  Presbyterianism,  can 
at  all  "  impair  or  endanger  their  everlasting  blessedness." 

The  only  shade  of  difl'erence  that  appears  in  the  two  creeds  in  these  master 
articles,  is,  that  the  Presbyterians  hold  that  the  sins  of  the  elect  are,  and  the 
Antinomians  that  they  are  not,  displeasing  to  God  :  but  in  order  to  establish 
even  this  difference,  it  is  incumbent  on  the  former  to  show  how  an  act  commit- 
ted agreeably  to  that  which  the  divine  will  had  eternally  decreed,  can  be  f//«- 
pleasing  to  God,  and  thus,  at  the  same  time,  consistent  with  his  tuiU  ■'  ■'  The 
effects  on  the  morals,  of  such  a  doctrine,  when  left  to  its  own  operations  on 
the  corrupt  will  of  man,  must  be  so  obviously  dangerous  to  every  reflecting 
mind,  as  to  need  no  illustrations. 


60 

that  the  evil  greatly  predominates  over  the  good  ;  and  hence, 
that  the  greatest  portion  of  men's  actions  are  sinful.  Now,  if 
it  be  asked,  whence  come  these  wicked  actions  ?  Your  Confes- 
sion answers,  <'  by  the  decree  of  God;''*  for  it  declares  that  *'  by 
the  decree  of  God  all  things  come  to  pass  immutably  and  infal- 
libly ;"  and  this  too,  we  are  clearly  made  to  understand, 
without  any  foresight  of  any  thing  in  the  creature  "  as  condi- 
tions or  causes  moving  him  thereunto." 

Again  ;  your  Confession  declares  that  God  has  foreordained 
the  non-elect  to  eternal  death.  This  is  the  end  decreed  from 
all  eternity.  What  are  the  means  ?  As  though  your  divines 
feared  that  the  world  might  mistake  their  meaning,  and 
attribute  something  to  the  tvill  oj  the  creature^  *<  the  means 
thereunto"  they  declare  are  also  decreed.  But  they  go  fur- 
ther, and  determine  to  leave  nothing  undecided — they  point 
out  the  very  means  which  God  has  decreed  to  effect  his  dread- 
ful purpose  :  that  is  to  say  ;  first,  he  has  created  men  "  utterly 
indisposed  to  all  good,  and  wholly  inclined  to  ail  evil ;"  2d.  He 
<«  withholdeth  his  grace^  whereby  they  might  have  been  enlightened 
in  their  understandings,  and  wrought  upon  in  their  hearts.**  Now, 
a  more  infallible  scheme  than  this,  could  not  have  been  con- 
trived, even  by  Satan  clothed  with  omnipotency,  to  «*  cause 
the  robber  to  kill,"  and  to  <♦  procure  adultery,  cursings,  and 
lyings  !  !'*  All  the  difference,  therefore,  between  the  ancient 
Calvinists  and  modern  Presbyterians  is,  that  the  former  per- 
ceiving clearly  the  full  tendency  and  scope  of  this  doctrine, 
have  had  the  courage  and  candour  to  declare  it  without  reserve, 
and  to  come  out  openly  and  manfully  in  defence  of  it ;  whilst 
the  latter,  although  not  less  unwilling  to  throw  away  this  idol, 
yet,  perceiving  that  its  hideous  deformities  are  more  and  more 
apparent,  they  have  become  ashamed  to  exhibit  it  in  open  day.* 
This  pusillanimity  on  your  part,  is  rather  a  favourable  omen  : 
and  being  surrounded  by  other  Christian  sects,  of  more  correct 
and  enlightened  views,  we  may  reasonably  hope  that  the  period 
is  not  very  far  distant,  when  you  will  be  prevailed  with  to 
abandon  these  pernicious  errors.  Permit  me  once  more  to  call 
your  attention  to  the  character  and  consequences  of  your  doc- 
trine, as  fairly  set  forth  in  the  foregoing  pages. 

1st.  It  is  abhorrent  to  reason. 

That  God  in  creating  man,  should  have  given  him  an  intel- 

*  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  modern  Presbyterian  writers,  when  hard 
pressed  by  their  opponents,  and  the  blapshemy  and  impiety  of  their  doctrines 
fairly  exposed,  to  cry  out  "scandal,"  "calumny,"  &c.,  without,  however, 
being  able  to  prove  any  thing  in  the  reasonings  and  deductions  of  the  opposing 
party,  but  truth  and  fair  dealing.  This  is  the  last  miserable  shift  of  expiring 
error. 


61 

ligence  which  revolts  at  his  providence  and  purpose  towards  ijis 
rational  creation,  is  not  one  of  the  least  absurdities  that  grow 
out  of  this  doctrine.  "  There  are  some  things,"  says  an  emi- 
nent writer,  *<that  are  found  in  the  Christian  religion  which 
are  above  reason,  but  nothing  which  ought  to  he  contrary  to  it.'* 
Yet,  it  is  impossible  for  the  rational  soul  to  contemplate  the 
doctrine  of  unconditional  election  and  reprobation,  without 
being  plunged  into  a  chaos  of  gloom,  horror,  and  despondency. 
All  definite  ideas  of  right  and  wrong,  truth  and  error,  are  here 
confounded  ;  and  caprice  and  injustice,  cruelty  and  wrath,  are 
the  principal  links  of  the  Calvinistic  chain  that  connects  God 
with  his  creatures;  and  in  their  moral  government  and  dispo- 
sition, neither  men,  nor  angels,  nor  devils,  exert  any  agency 
whatever,  except  in  entire  subserviency  to  God's  irresistible 
decrees,  framed  before  the  foundation  of  the  world.  Decrees  by 
which  millions  of  rational  creatures,  whom  God's  providence 
has  brought  into  existence,  have  been  from  all  eternity  "  un- 
changeably designed"  to  everlasting  misery,  and,  to  use  your 
own  words,  <*  without  any  foresight  of  any  thing  in  the  creature, 
as  conditions  or  causes  moving  him  thereunto^*  I! 

2d.  This  doctrine  blasphemes  the  character  of  God,  and 
equally  shocks  our  moral  feelings,  and  that  "  inspeaking  word 
of  grace  and  truth,"  which  he  has  placed  in  the  heart. 

God  is  transformed,  by  this  doctrine,  into  a  tyrant  infinitely 
more  capricious,  cruel,  and  wicked,  than  any  earthly  despot 
that  can  be  conceived,  seeing  that  omnipotence  is  superadded 
to  his  attributes,  and  eternal  duration  to  his  vindictive  punish- 
ment ! !  He  is  hereby  represented  as  dividing  all  the  human 
species,  which  he  proposed  to  bring  into  existence,  into  two 
unequal  classes ;  the  smaller  number  his  caprice  loads  with 
favours,  but  upon  the  larger  portion  he  pours  [his  curses,  his 
vengeance,  and  his  wrath,  and  that  without  the  least  regard  to 
the  merit  or  demerit  of  either  party  ! ! !  That  these  principles 
shock  the  moral  feelings,  needs  no  illustration ;  and  I  appeal 
to  all  those  who  have  felt  any  thing  of  the  grace  of  Gf)d — of  th6 
incomes  of  his  love  flowing  through  their  souls,  if  they  do  not 
experience  it  expanding  and  extending  to  every  individual  of 
the  human  family.  Yea,  the  humble  Christian,  under  the  ope- 
ration of  this  sacred  influence,  embraces  every  man  as  his  bro- 
ther, without  respect  to  persons,  and  views  him  as  an  equal 
candidate  with  himself  for  the  final  enjoyment  of  immortality 
and  eternal  life.  As  an  argumentum  ad  hominenif  I  consider  this 
as  furnishing  a  most  irrefragable  and  conclusive  testimony 
against  the  fallacy  of  your  pernicious  system*  It  is  this  sort 
of  evidence,  which,  under  our  next  head  we  shall  find  abun- 


OS 

tlantly  iurnisheil  by  the  prophets  and  apostles,  and  vindicating 
the  character  of  God  and  his  Christ  from  the  foulest  imputations 
that  men  could  have  invented. 

3d.  This  doctrine  is  contrary  to  the  Scriptures. 

If,  according  to  your  Confession  of  Faith,  the  number  of  the 
elect,  and  the  number  of  the  reprobate  ones  are  both  "so  cer- 
tain and  definite,  that  they  cannot  be  either  increased  nor 
diininislied,"  how  are  we  to  understand  all  those  threaten- 
ings,  admoniti<ms,  promises,  warnings,  exhortations,  persua- 
sions, and  intreaties,  found  throughout  the  Bible,  all  implying 
a  condition^  a  state  of  trial  and  probation,  wherein  the  subject 
hath  a  free  will  and  power,  to  accept  or  reject  the  terms  of  his 
reconciliation  and  restoration  unto  God  ? 

Moreover,  when  God  asks  "  why  will  ye  die,  why  will  ye  not 
come  unto  me?"  When  he  declares  to  man  that  his  **  destruc- 
tion is  of  himself f*'  when  he  says,  "  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the 
death  of  the  wicked,  but  that  he  turn  from  his  way  and  live ;" 
when  he  declares  that  he  **  will  have  all  men  to  be  saved  ;*' 
when  he  says,  *'  I  call  heaven  and  earth  to  record  this  day 
against  you,  that  I  have  set  before  you  life  and  death,  blessing 
and  cursing  :  therefore  choose  life,  that  both  thou  and  thy  seed 
may  live;"  when  the  Saviour  invites,  «  come  unto  me  all  ye 
that  are  heavy  laden  and  weary  and  I  will  give  you  rest ;" 
when  he  asserts  that  he  came  to  call  sinners  to  repentance,  to 
save  that  which  was  lost,  to  give  light  to  the  world  ;  when  he 
declares  that  all  that  will  come  may  come ;  when  he  weeps 
over  Jerusalem  ;  when  he  says,  **  the  harvest  is  great ;"  "  seek 
and  ye  shall  find  ;"  "  ask  and  ye  shall  receive  j"  **  knock  and  it 
shall  be  opened ;"  when  he  speaks  of  the  joy  in  heaven  over 
a  sinner  that  rc})enteth  :  when  he  sets  forth  the  goodness,  long 
suffering,  and  irtilnite  mercy  of  the  Father,  by  the  parable  of 
the  prodigal  son  :  when  he  prays  for  his  enemies,  and  asserts 
his  Father's  unbounded  love  to  all  mankind  ;-»alI  this  but 
serves  to  prove,  if  it  be  true  that  God  had  beforehand  deter- 
mined the  exact  number  that  should  be  saved,  and  which  num- 
ber ca/mef  he  increased  nor  diminished  ,•  and  irrevocably  decreed 
the  damnation  of  all  the  restj  all  this  I  say  does  but  evince  a 
horrible  system  of  double  dealing,  falsehood,  and  hypocrisy 
»n  the  part  of  the  Deity ;  and  that  the  Father  and  Son  had 
entered  into  collusion,  to  mock,  to  deceive,  and  finally  to  de- 
stroy a  large  majority  of  the  human  family  ! ! ! 

4th.  It  makes  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  a  perfect  mockery. 

If  the  future  state  and  condition  of  every  soul  has,  as  you 
affirm,  been  from  all  eternity  irrevocably  determined,  what 
advantage  can  possibly  be  derived  to  any  from  preaching  the 


63 

Gospel  ?  Will  you  presume  to  thwart  the  decrees  of  God  ?   Can 
you  save,  by  a  whole  life  devoted  to  continual  preaching,  ex- 
hortation, and  prayer,  a  single  reprobate  from  eternal  death  ? 
Certainly  not :  both  the  end  and  the  means  to  accomplish  the 
eternal  destruction  of  the  reprobate  have  been,  you  say,  decreed 
before  the  world  was  ;  your  efforts,  therefore,  can  avail  notljing  : 
and  if  you  be  really  sincere  in  what  you  are  doing,  there  re- 
sults, unavoidably,  a  glaring  inconsistency  between  your  pro- 
fession and  your  practice.     Were  your  ministers  to  act  ho- 
nestly up  to  their  profession,  could  they,  with  a  clear  con- 
science, accept  money  for  preaching  ?  Ought  they  not  to  feel 
some  scruples  at  receiving  from  one  to  six  thousand  dollars  per 
annum,  without  being  able  to  prompt  even  one  virtuous  thouglit  ? 
If  it  be  answered,  <*  they  are  the  means  of  calling  the  elect,^^  I 
reply  in  the  words  of  your  Confession,  that  God  did,  from  all 
eternity  decree  «*  all  the  means  thereunto :"  it  is  evident  there- 
fore that  the  elect  will  infallibly  be  called  without  the  aitl  of 
your  ministers.     Besides,    as  we  are  told  in  ch.  v.  3,  that 
God  sometimes  works  against  means,  is  there  not,  therefore, 
some  reason  to  fear  that  He  may  be  under'the  necessity  of 
working  against  their  preaching,  in  order  to  secure  the  full 
execution  of  his  decree  of  reprobation  ?  But,  although  this  plea 
be  admitted,  what  can  be  said  to  palliate  the  manifest  injustice 
of  taking  money  from  the  reprobate;  for  it  is  well  known,  that 
your  ministers  not  only  accept,  but  importunately  beg  it  from 
all  classes  of  society  ?    Is  it  not  enough  to  doom  the  reprobate, 
by  an  irrespective  decree,  to  eternal  misery,  without  extorting 
from  him  the  means  of  procuring  to  himself,  during  this  short 
life,  some  crums  of  earthly  felicity  ?  But  this  injustice  is  more- 
over greatly  aggravated,  under  the  consideration,  that  preach- 
ing to  the  reprobate  must  not  only  be  necessarily  useless  as  a 
means  of  reforming  him,  but  a  gin  and  a  snare,  according  to 
your  creed,  to  harden  him,  and  to  add  to  his  condemnation 
and  punishment ! ! 

Were  a  stranger  from  another  planet  to  visit  our  world  with 
the  inquiry  :  *'  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  ?"  and  were  he  in- 
formed that  God,  the  object  of  his  faith,  had  from  all  eternity 
decreed  unalterably  all  things  which  come  to  pass,  with  all  the 
means  necessary  thereto;  that  the  number  of  the  saved  is  so 
immutably  fixed,  that  it  cannot  be  by  any  acts  of  men  "  in- 
creased nor  diminished,''  nor  the  period  of  their  *<  effectual 
calling"  hastened  nor  retarded  ;  that  the  non-elect  are  hurried 
along  by  the  same  irresistable  impulse ;  their  numbers,  their 
crimes,  and  their  punishments,  unchangeably,  and  from  all 
eternity,  preordained  ^—what  would  be  his  reply  ?  <'  God  has 


6^^ 

l«ft  nothing  for  me  to  do.  If  I  am  of  the  number  of  the  elect  I 
must  be  saved ;  and  if  of  the  non-elect,  I  am  lost  without  a 
remedy  !"  "  Your  whole  system  of  preachini?,  praying  and 
exhorting  is  nothing  but  an  illusion,  a  mere  scheme  to  obtain 
money,  seeing  you  cannot  change  the  order  of  things,  nor  add 
one  soul  to  the  number  of  the  saved !" 

5th.  It  reduces  the  Gospel  plan  of  salvation  to  a  poor,  insig- 
nificant, paltry  concern;  and  the  coming  of  Christ  an  evidence 
of  God's  wrath,  rather  than  of  his  love. 

According  to  this  doctrine  the  coming  of  Christ  hath  been 
ordained  for  the  saving  of  a  few  only  ;  and  for  the  hardening 
and  condemnation  of  the  remainder,  which  constitutes  by  far 
the  greater  part.  For,  in  the  words  of  your  Confession,  ch.  x. 
i.  those  "  not  elected,  although  they  may  be  called  by  the 
ministry  of  the  word,  and  may  have  some  common  operations  of 
the  spiritf  yet  they  never  truly  come  to  Christ,  and  therefore 
cannot  be  saved."  Thus  it  appears  that  Christ  hath  conferred 
on  the  reprobate  ones  "some  common  operations  of  the  spirit," 
not  in  order  to  save  them,  but  to  serve  as  a  pretext  for  their 
final  condemnation  ! ! 

Permit  me  to  call  your  attention  to  the  smallness  of  the  num- 
ber of  the  elect,  and  the  vast  multitudes  which  your  doctrine 
consigns  to  eternal  death. 

In  the  first  chapter  of  your  Confession  of  Faith,  we  are 
taught,  that  to  all  those  who  have  not  the  scriptures,  salvation 
is  impossible,^  Now  this  globe  is  supposed  to  contain  about 
nine  hundred  millions  of  souls  ;  and  of  this  number  six  hun- 
dred and  seventy  millions,  either  have  not  the  scriptures  or 
reject  them.    It  is  computed  that  a  generation  lasts   about 

*  — **  It  hath  pleased  the  Lord,  at  sundry  times  and  in  diverse  manners,  to 
reveal  himself,  and  to  declare  that  his  wUl  unto  his  Church,  and  afterwards  to 
commit  the  same  wholly  unto  ■u)riti7ig  ;  which  maketh  the  Holy  Scriptures  to 
be  most  necessary,  those  former  ways  of  God's  revealing  his  will  unto  his  peo- 
ple being  no-w  ceased" — Confession,  Ch. i.  1.  •*  Others  not  elected,  &c.  can- 
not be  saved  :  much  less  can  men,  not  possessing  the  Christian  religion,  be 
saved  in  any  other  way  whatsoever  ;  and  to  assert  and  maintain  that  they  may  is 
•very  pernicious  and  to  be  detested.^'    Ch.  x.  4. 

I  shaU  notice  the  dark  sayings  of  these  theologians  in  another  place  ;  for  the 
present  I  will  place  in  opposition  to  them  the  sentiments  of  the  enlightened 
Isaac  Watts  : 

"  Upon  the  whole  view  of  things,"  says  he,  "  I  think,  from  scripture  and 
reason  together,  we  may  justly  conclude,  that  where  Christ  and  the  Gospel 
ere  not  published,  all  humble  and  sincere  penitents,  asking  pardon  of  God,  and 
hoping  in  his  mercy  (though  they  know  nothing  of  the  particular  way  or  me- 
thod wherein  it  is,  or  hath  been,  or  shall  be  revealed)  shall  not  fail  of  pardon 
and  acceptance  with  God  at  last,  nor  miss  of  some  tokens  of  his  favour.  This 
grace  hath  Jesus  procured,  and  God  \^yj  bcstow  it.'*  Strength,  and  Weakness 
of  Human  Reason,  p.  2d. 


thirty  five  years.  Here  then  we  have  six  hundred  and  seventy 
millions  of  souls  swept  off  every  thirty  five  years  into  eternal 
misery  !  Nearly  three-fourths  of  the  human  family  to  whom, 
according  to  your  system,  salvation  through  Christ  has  never 
been  rendered  possible  ;  and  tliat  too  not  for  any  sin  which  they 
have  committed,  but  by  the  decrees  of  God,  and  '«  without  any 
foresight  of  antj  thing  in  the  creature  as  conditions  or  causes 
moving  him  thereunto.*^ 

But  there  is  yet  to  be  added  to  this  list  the  great  numbers 
through  Christendom,  who,  by  reason  of  these  decrees  "can 
never  come  to  Christ,"  and  also  the  souls  which  the  Quakers, 
the  Baptists  and  the  Methodistsby  their  "illiterate  ministers" 
<*  are  sending  to  perdition."  To  what  a  very  small  number,  then, 
will  these  several  subtractions  reduce  the  elect !  According  to 
your  premises,  I  believe  tliat  for  every  one  elected,  there  must 
be  from  twenty  to  thirty,  wlio  have  been  doomed  from  all  eter- 
nity, without  any  regard  to  their  demerits,  to  receive  the  awful 
sentence  of  «  begone  ye  cursed."  ! !  What  a  comment  this,  on 
the  divine  attributes  of  that  Being,  whose  *«  mercy'*  inspiration 
has  pronounced  infinite,  and  *»  over  all  his  works." !  What  an 
imputation  on  that  Redeemer  who  the  Scriptures  testify  "  died 
for  all,  that  all  might  be  saved."  ! !  Does  such  a  God  as  yours 
deserve  the  title  of  «  Preserver  of  men"  ?  Does  such  a  Christ 
merit  the  appellation  of  "  Saviour  of  the  World"  ?  Could  a 
system  be  invented  more  supremely  fitted  to  inspire  and  diffuse 
the  sentiments  of  atheism  and  infidelity  ? 

6th.  In  defence  of  this  system,  it  has  been  argued  that  God's 
decrees  were  made  in  full  view  of  sins  voluntarily  committed, 
and  thus  the  reprobate,  sinning  willingly,  is  justltj  punished. 
A  descending  to  such  sophistry,  furnishes  an  additional  evi- 
dence of  error.     By  this  argument  the  decrees  are  virtually 
abandoned;  the  tenor  of  it  is  simply  this  :  God  leaves  the  re- 
probate to  act  agreeably  to  his  own  volitions,  and  then  passes 
on  his  voluntary  sins,  his  decree  of  coufrmation.    Now  nothing 
takes  place  here,  but  what  would  have  occurred  had  no  decree 
been  made  ;  and  the  amount  of  the  argument  is,  that  God  has 
decreed  what  should  be,  merely  because  he  saw  that  it  would 
be  I  !     Moreover,  the  decrees  of  election  and  reprobation,  arc 
declared  in  the  Confession  of  Faith,  to  have  been  made  by 
God,  **  without  any  foresight  of  any  thing  in  the  creature,  as 
conditions,  or  causes  moving  him  thereunto."    Hence  it  is  mani- 
fest, that  the  God  of  Calvinism  adapts  the  volitions  (or  rather 
actions)  of  men  to  his  decrees,  and  not  his  decrees  to  their  voli- 
tions,- like  a  skilful  musician  who  adjusts  the  strings  of  his 
instrument  to  the  air  or  tunc  which  he  designs  to  play  j  or  the 


6G 

ingenious  mechanic,  who  in  constructing  a  machine  to  answer 
a  pre-determined  purpose,  calculates  the  diameter  of  the 
wheels,  the  number  of  teeth  in  each,  together  with  the  relation 
that  they  must  bear  to  each  other,  and  their  manner  of  connec- 
tion, so  that  the  complicated  motion  of  the  whole  shall  produce 
the  precise  effect  intended.  Now,  in  acting  under  the  com- 
pelling force  of  the  decrees,  the  elect  and  the  reprobate,  pur- 
sue the  narrow  and  the  broad  way,  with  the  same  kind  of  wil- 
lingness, that  the  instrument  produces  its  tune  and  the  machine 
its  motion.  It  is  in  the  same  sense  that  the  gun  in  the  hands  of 
the  murderer  kills  the  victim  willingly  :  the  sword  in  the  hand 
of  the  assassin  enters  the  body  willingly :  the  weight  of  the 
child's  body,  when  thrown  over  a  precipice  carries  it  down 
willingly  :  the  poison,  secretly  administered  by  the  treacherous 
servant,  acts  willingly  on  the  stomach.  Now,  agreeably  to 
your  mode  of  reasoning,  the  gun,  the  sword,  the  power  of  gra- 
vity, and  the  poison,  are  to  be  reputed  the  real  authors  of 
these  murders,  and  not  those  persons  who  directed  and  applied 
them ! ! 

7th.  I  have  before  said  that  this  doctrine  is  contrary  to  the 
Scriptures.  In  almost  every  page  of  the  Bible  a  refutation 
of  it  is  to  be  found.  When  treating  of  rewards  and  punish- 
ments, the  conditions  by  which  the  former  are  gained,  and  the 
latter  incurred,  are  so  amply  set  forth,  that  it  is  difficult  to 
conceive  how  any  one,  entering  on  the  inquiry  free  from  all 
preconceived  opinions,  should  not  be  fully  convinced  of  the 
incompatibility  of  your  doctrine,  with  the  general  scope  and 
tenor  of  those  writings.  But,  Cas  in  the  case  before  us)  the 
most  extravagant  and  irrational  opinions  have  had  Scripture 
adduced  to  maintain  them.  There  are  some  tilings  in  the 
sacred  page  which  are,  as  the  apostle  Peter  declares,  <'  hard 
to  be  understood,"  and  which  men,  who,  like  your  divines, 
<*lean  to  their  own  understandings,"  *«  unlearned"  and  un- 
taught by  the  Holy  Spirit  whiclt  dictated  them,  are  liable  to 
"  wrest  to  their  own  destruction." 

I  will  now  turn  to  some  of  those  texts  of  Scripture  which 
your  theologians  bring  forward  in  support  o^  unconditional  elec- 
tion and  reprobation.  «'  I  pray  for  them  :  I  pray  not  for  the 
world,  but  for  them  which  thou  has  given  me."     John  xvii    9. 

"  All  that  the  Father  giveth  me  shall  come  to  me,  and  him 
that  Cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out:  and  this  is  the 
Father's  will,  who  sent  me,  that  of  all  which  he  hath  given 
me,  I  should  lose  nothing,  but  should  raise  it  up  at  the  last 
day."     John  vi.  37,  59.* 

*  Vid.  Letters  of  Dr.  Woods. — There  are  many  texts  advanced  in  support  of 
this  doctrine,  as  Mat.  xxiv.  22,  Acts  xiii.  48,  Rom.  viii.  30,  Eph.  i.  4  &  5, 


67 

In  chap.  i.  9,  of  your  Confession  of  Faith,  is  found  the  fol- 
lowing :  <'  The  intallibie  rule  of  the  interpretation  of  Scripture 
is  the  Scripture  itself;  and,  therefore,  when  there  is  a  question 
about  the  true  and  full  sense  of  any  Scripture,  (which  is  not 
manifold,  but  one)  it  may  be  searched  and  known  by  othef 
places  that  speak  more  dearly.'' 

Now,  if  your  Westminster  divines  had  not  been  the  first  to 
violate  their  own  rule,  they  would  never  have  troubled  the 
world  with  the  doctrine  in  question;  for  it  is  no  where  ex- 
pressed in  Scripture,  that  God  did  from  all  eternity  fore-ordain^ 
imconditioiially,  a  certain,  fixed,  and  determinate  number  of 
his  rational  creatures  to  eternal  life,  and  the  rest,  in  like  man- 
ner, to  eternal  death  ;  but  the  very  reverse  of  all  this,  is  clearhj 
expressed  in  a  thousand  places. 

But  let  us  apply  this  rule  to  the  case  in  question.  The  texts 
which  are  quoted,  do  not  explicitly  declare  an  unconditional 
election  ;  let  us  therefore  examine,  whetlicr  there  are  not,  in 
the  words  of  your  rule,  '<  other  places  (from  the  same  authority) 
which  speak  more  clearly.** 

**  Neither  pray  1  for  these  alone  ;  but  for  them  also,  which 
shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word."     John  xvii.  20. 

*«  For  the  Father  himself  loveth  you,  because  ye  have  loved 
me,  and  have  believed  that  I  came  out  from  God,"   John  xvi.  27. 

*'  Ye  cannot  bear  fruit  except  ye  abide  in  me.  If  a  man  abide 
not  in  me,  he  is  cast  forth  as  a  branch,  and  is  withered."  John 
XV    4,  6. 

*'  If  ye  keep  my  commandments,  ye  shall  abide  in  my  love." 
Ver.  10. 

*'  Ye  are  my  friends  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  command  you.** 
Ver.  14. 

«*  He  that  believeth  on  me,  the  works  that  I  do  shall  he  do 
also."     John  xiv.  12. 

*«  That  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish."  John 
iii.  iB. 

"  And  this  is  the  condemnation,  that  light  is  come  into  the 
world,  and  men  loved  darkness  rather  than  light,  because  their 
deeds  were  evil.'*    John  iii.  i9. 

"  Ye  will  not  come  unto  me  that  ye  might  have  life."  John 
v.  39. 

"  If  any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doc- 
trine," &c.     John  vii.  17. 

2  Tim  i.  9.  &c.  &c.  None  of  these  Scriptures,  however,  assert  an  unconditianal 
election  :  one  single  text,  therefore,  which  plainly  declares  that  election  is 
conditional,  outwei^s  them  all. 


C8 

**  ^f  y^  forgive  men  their  trespasses,  your  heavenly  Father 
will  also  forgive  you."     Mat.  vi.  l  i. 

*<  Repent  ye,  and  believe  the  gospel.*'     Mark  i.  15. 

**  Except  ye  repent^  ye  shall  all  likewise  jjerish."  Luke 
xiii.  3. 

"  If  ye  believe  not  that  I  am  he,  ye  shall  die  in  your  sins." 
John  viii.  24. 

**  If  a  man  keep  my  saying,  he  shall  never  see  death."  John 
viii.  51. 

**  Blessed  are  they  that  hear  the  word  and  keep  it."  Luke 
xi.  28. 

*<  0  Jerusalem,  how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  chil- 
dren, hut  ye  would  not."'     Mat.  xxiii.  37. 

"  Therefore,  whosoever  heareth  these  sayings  of  mine,  and 
doeth  them,  I  will  liken  him  unto  a  wise  man."      Mat.  vii.  24. 

«  I  have  set  before  you  life  and  death,  blessing  and  cursing, 
therefore  choose  life.'''     Deut.  xxx.  19. 

<*If  thou  doest  well  shalt  thou  not  be  accepted?  and  if  thou 
doest  not  well  sin  lyeth  at  the  door."     Gen.  iv.  7. 

Now  apply  the  rule.  Can  words  be  put  together  «  whicli 
speak  more  clearly"  a  power  to  obey,  or  refuse  ;  to  accept,  or 
reject ;  a  conditional  election  ;  the  power  of  choice  ?  Every 
impartial  reader  will  answer,  no.  It  is  impossible,  therefore, 
that  the  texts  quoted  by  you,  could  have  been  intended  to  con- 
vey the  idea  of  an  unconditional  election,  without  making  our 
Saviour  inconsistent  with  himself. 

The  above  passages  are  abundantly  sufficient  to  overturn  every 
constructive  testimony  that  ever  has,  or  ever  can  be  adduced 
in  support  of  your  principles.  I  shall,  however,  advert  to  one 
other  part  of  the  New  Testament,  on  which  much  stress  and 
reliance  is  placed.  I  allude  to  the  eighth  and  ninth  chapters 
of  the  epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Romans.  It  would  be  no  difficult 
matter  to  shew  from  the  context  of  these  chapters,  that  the 
election  which  the  apostle  means,  has  reference  only  to  out- 
ward privileges,  and  no  relation  to  an  individual,  unconditional 
election  to  eternal  life.  But  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  I  will  ap- 
ply «*  the  infallible  rule,"  as  in  the  foregoing  case,  and  bring 
forward  this  eminent  apostle's  own  testimony  to  redeem  his 
well  earned  fame ;  his  liberal,  enlightened,  and  expanded 
mind,  from  the  dark  shade  which  the  advocates  of  Calvinism 
have  endeavoured  to  throw  around  it.  In  the  same  epistle,  to 
the  same  people,  and  in  the  chapters  immediately  succeeding 
the  above,  we  find  the  following  : 

''For  there  is  no  difference  between  the  Jew  and  theGreekj 


69 

for  the  same  Lord  over  all,  is  rich  unto  all  that  call  upon  him.— 
For  whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord,  shall  be 
saved/      Rom.  x.  12,  13. 

"  And  if  some  of  the  branches  be  broken  off,  and  thiiu  being 
a  wild  olive  tree,  wert  graffed  in  among  them,  and  witli  tiK  in 
partakest  of  the  root  and  fatness  of  the  olive  tree  ;  boast  not 
against  the  branches" — »•  because  of  unbelief  they  were  broken 
off,  and  thoustandest  by  faith.  Be  not  high-minded,  but  fear; 
for  if  God  spared  not  the  natural  branches,  take  heed  lest  he 
spare  not  thee.  Behold  therefore,  the  goodness  and  severity  of 
God  :  on  them  which/e// severity  ;  but  towards  tht-e,  goodness,  if' 
thou  continue  in  his  goodness  ;  otherwise  thou  a/so  shalt  be  cut  off. 
And  they  also,  if  they  abide  not  still  in  unbelief  shall  be  graffed 
in  ;  for  God  is  able  to  graff  them  in  again.'*     Rom.  xi.  1 7  to  23. 

"  Tribulation  and  anguish  upon  every  soul  of  man  that  doeth 
evil" — «  but  glory,  honour  and  peace  to  every  man  that  tvorketh 
good."  "  For  there  is  no  respect  of  persons  with  God."  "  For  as 
many  as  have  sinned  without  law  shall  also  perish  without  law." 
"  For  not  the  hearers,  but  the  doers  of  the  law  shall  be  justified." 
Rom.  ch.  ii. 

«  The  man  Christ  Jesus  who  gave  himself  a  ransom /or  all." 
1  Tim.  ii.  5  and  6. 

«  The  grace  of  God  which  bringeth  salvation,  hath  appeared 
unto  all  men."     Titus  ii.  11. 

"  That  he,  by  the  grace  of  God  tasted  death  for  every  manJ" 
Heb.  ii   9. 

Now  if  this  dignified  servant  of  Christ  had  purposely  taken 
up  the  pen  to  overthrow  the  doctrine  of  unconditional  election 
and  reprobation,  he  could  not  have  spoken  <*  more  clearly  ;" 
and  had  your  theologians  turned  to  these  passages,  and  applied 
their  own  "infallible  rule"  to  them,  I  think  they  never  could 
have  brought  him  forward  as  an  advocate  for  their  doctrine. 

I  will  close  this  article  with  a  few  more  Scriptures,  proving 
general  redemption,  or  that  salvation  is  put  within  the  reach  of 
every  man. 

«  If  any  man  sin  we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  even 
Jesus  Christ  the  righteous,  who  is  a  propitiation  for  our  sins, 
and  not  for  ours  only,  but  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world."  1  John 
ii.  1  and  2. 

«  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself.''  2 
Cor.  V.  19. 

"  For  the  Lamb  of  God  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world,*^ 
John  i.  29. 

«  For  as,  by  the  offence  of  one,  judgment  came  upon  all  men 


70 

16  condemnation  :  even  so  by  the  righteousness  of  one  the  J'rce 
gift  came  upon  all  men  unto  justification  of  life."     Rom.  v.  18. 

** The  true  light,  which  lighteth  every  man  that  cometh 

into  the  world."    John  i.  9. 

**  For  God  sent  not  his  Son  into  the  world  to  condemn  the  world, 
but  that  the  world  through  him  might  be  saved."    John  iii.  17. 

«  But  we  thus  judge,  that  if  one  died  for  all  then  were  all 
dead."     2  Cor.  v.  14.. 

"Who  gave  himself  a  ransom  for  all,  to  be  testified  in  due 
time."     1  Tim.  ii.  6. 

«  The  Lord  is  good  to  all,  and  his  tender  mercies  are  over 
all  his  works.''     Psal.  cxlv.  9. 

«  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the 
world.''     John  i.  29. 

"  I  exhort  that  prayers,  &c.  be  made  for  all  men;  for  this  is 
good  and  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God  our  Saviour  ;  who  will 
have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to  come  unto  the  knowledge  of 
the  truth."    1  Tim.  ii.  1,  3,  4. 

<• He  is  not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all 

should  come  to  repentance." 

«  For  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten 
Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life."    John  iii.  16. 

Now  it  would  be  absurd  to  deny  that  the  above  Scriptures 
plainly  offer  salvation,  conditionally,  to  all  men;  and  if  it  were 
granted,  that  the  texts  which  your  divines  quote  be  equally 
conclusive  in  establishing  the  contrary  doctrine  of  unconditional 
election  and  reprobation,  the  monstrous  consequence  would 
follow,  that  as  both  of  these  doctrines,  so  opposite  and  irrecon- 
cilable to  each  other,  have  been  announced  by  the  same  a%ithors, 
these,  being  so  inconsistent  with  themselves,  ought  to  be  treated 
as  impostors  and  deemed  unworthy  of  our  respect  and  credence. 

8th.  A  legitimate  offspring  of  predestination,  is  the  doctrine 
of  the  I'ERSEVERANCE  of  the  saints,  or  once  in  grace  always 

IN  GRACE. 

All  the  arguments  which  have  been  advanced  against  pre- 
destination, apply  with  equal  force  against  this  doctrine  :  they 
are  inseparably  connected,  and  must  stand  or  fall  together. 
Hence  it  is  declared  in  the  Confession  of  Faith,  chap.  xvii.  2. 
that  this  article  of  your  creed  <*  depends  on  the  immutability 
of  the  decree  of  election." 

The  holy  Apostle  admonishes  us  to  **  give  all  diligence  to 
make  our  calling  and  election  sure  ;"  which  advice  clearly  im- 
plies that  our  perseverance,  or  continuance  in  a  state  of  grace 
or  favour  with  God,  depends  on  our  co-operating,  care,  and  dili- 


71 

gencc.  And  this  same  apostle  was  fully  convinced  of  the  neces- 
sitv  of  this  diligence  in  iiis  own  case,  when  he  says:  "  But  I 
keep  under  my  body,  and  bring  it  into  subjection,  lest  that  by 
an^  means,  when  1  have  preached  to  others,  I  myself  should 
be  a  cast-away." — i  Cor.  ix.  27.  And  he  also  testifies  of  some 
wlio,  although  once  in  grace,  had  fallen  :  "Holding faith,"  says 
he,  *♦  and  a  good  conscience,  which  some  having  -put  away, 
concerning  faith  have  made  shipxvreck.** — 1  Tim.  i.  19.  Thus 
also  in  Ezekiel  xviii.  24,  27  :  *'  When  a  righteous  man  turneth 
away  from  his  righteousness,  and  committeth  iniquity,  shall 
he  live?  All  his  righteousness  that  he  hath  done  shall  not  be 
mentioned ;  in  his  trespass  that  he  hath  trespassed  and  in  his 
sin  that  he  hath  sinned,  in  them  shall  he  die.  Again,  when  the 
wicked  turneth  away  from  his  wickedness,  that  he  hath  com- 
mitted, and  doeth  that  which  is  lawful  and  right,  he  shall  savK 
his  soul  alive.'* 

Now,  agreeably  to  the  "  infallible  rule"  in  the  Confession, 
this  text  speaks  so  «' clearly,"  that  no  one  can  mistake  it.  The 
prophet  here  overturns  the  whole  system  of  predestination  with 
all  its  appendages.  Here  is  a  righteous  man  falling  from  grace 
and  dying  thereby  ;  and  a  reprobate,  turning  from  his  wicked- 
ness and  «  saving  his  soul  alive."  But  were  I  to  quote  all  the 
Scripture  testimony  which  plainly  denies  this  irrational  and 
pernicious  doctrine,  I  should  swell  this  article  to  a  volume. 
The  Bible  is  full  of  it.     Suffice  it  to  add  the  following  texts  : 

"  Repent  and  do  thy  jirst  works,  or  else  I  will  come  unto 
thee  quickly,  and  will  remove  thy  candlestick  out  of  its  place 
except  thou  repent.'''     Rev.  ii.  5. 

♦♦  To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  to  eat  of  the  tree  of 
life."     Rev.  ii.  7. 

**  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of 
life."     Rev.  ii.  10. 

**  Because  thou  hast  kept  the  word  of  my  patience,  I  also  will 
keep  thee  from  the  hour  of  temptation."     Rev.  iii.  10. 

"  But  he  that  endureth  to  the  end  shall  be  saved."  Mat. 

X.  22. 

In  considering  the  decisive  import  of  the  foregoing  texts, 
with  a  thousand  more  that  miglit  be  quoted,  how  are  we  to 
reconcile  the  manifest  discrepancy  between  your  declaration 
that  the  Bible  is  the  »<  only  adequate  and  primary  rule  of  faitit 
and  practice,"  and  the  following  articles  of  your  creed  ? 

*♦  God  doth  continue  to  forgive  the  sins  of  those  that  are  jus- 
tified."    Conf.  of  Faith,  xi.  5. 

*<  The  elect  are  pitied,  protected,  provided  for,  and  chas- 
tened, by  him  as  by  a  father,  yet  never  cast  off  bnt  scaled  to  the 
day  of  redemption."    Chap.  xii.  1. 


7^ 

The  very  dangerous  tendency  of  this  doctrine  is  well  illus- 
trated in  the  case  of  Oliver  Cromwell ;  who,  when  conscious 
of  his  approaching  dissolution,  asked  his  favorite  chaplain  if  it 
was  certain  that  the  elect  could  never  suffer  a  final  reproba- 
tion. *<  On  that  you  may  with  confidence  rely,"  said  the  min- 
ister. "  Then  am  I  safe,"  replied  Cromwell,  •*  for  I  am  sure 
that  I  was  once  in  a  state  of  grace."  (Modern  Europe,  vol.  iii. 
p.  440.)  Thus  died  the  famous  Protector,  after  many  years 
spent  in  dissipation  and  forgetfulness  of  God,  leaning  on  this 
article  of  his  creed,  delusive  as  the  hypocrite's  hope,  which 
perisheth,  instead  of  "  seeking  a  place  of  repentance,"  and 
doing  "  his  first  works." 

It  is  thus  that  He,  whom  inspiration  declares  to  be  <«  no  re- 
specter of  persons,"  and  to  be  *<  equal  in  all  his  ways,"  is 
represented  by  your  faith,  as  dooming  millions  of  souls  to  end- 
less perdition,  for  the  sin  of  one  whom  they  never  heard  of,  and 
upholding  and  justifying  his  favoured  few  in  all  their  wicked- 
ness, and  finally  receiving  them  into  the  arms  of  his  love,  with- 
out one  virtuous  thought  to  recommend  them  to  his  favour ; 
and  this  in  order  «*  to  manifest  his  glory,  to  make  his  power 
known,  and  to  the  praise  of  his  glorious  justice.*^  1 1 ! 

*'  As  for  my  people,  children  are  their  oppressors  and  women 
rule  over  them.  0  my  people,  they  which  lead  thee  cause  thee 
to  err,  and  destroy  the  way  of  thy  paths." 

9th.  The  last  article  of  your  Belief  which  I  shall  notice,  but 
one  not  less  dangerous  and  anti-scriptural  than  that  of  perse- 
verance,  is  imputative  righteousness,  which  is  laid  down  in  the 
Confession  of  Faith,  and  by  the  pretended  orthodoXf  as  follows  : 

«<  Those  whom  God  effectually  calleth  he  also  freely  justi- 
fieth,  not  by  infusing  righteousness  into  them;  not  for  any 
thing  wrought  in  them,  or  done  by  them,  but  by  imputing  the 
obedience  and  satisfaction  of  Christ  unto  them.  God  did  from 
all  eternity,  agree  to  justify  all  the  elect.  God  doth  continue 
to  forgive  the  sins  of  those  that  are  justified.  Repentance  is 
no  cause  of  the  pardon  of  sin.  To  all  those  for  whom  Christ 
has  purchased  redemption,  he  doth  certainly  and  effectually  ap- 
ply and  communicate  the  same.  The  Lord  Jesus  by  his  perfect 
obedience  and  sacrifice  of  himself,  which  he,  through  the  Eter- 
nal Spirit,  once  offered  up  unto  God,  hath  fully  satisfied  the 
justice  of  his  Father,  and  purchased  not  only  reconciliation,  hut  an 
everlasting  iyiheritance  in  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  for  all  those 
^vhom  the  Father  hath  given  him.*' — Cb.  viii.  6,  8.  Ch.  xi.  1,*,  5. 
Ch.  XV.  3. 

«  The  Covenant  of  Grace,  with  respect  to  us,  hath  no  condi- 
tions.   A  right  to  life  neither  is  nor  can  be  founded  on  any 


73 

action  of  ours,  but  on  the  righteousness  of  our  Lord  alone,  who 
having  perfectly  fulfilled  the  righteousness  of  the  law  for  us, 
nothing  can  injustice  be  required  of  us  to  perform,  in  order  to 
acquire  a  right  already  purchased  for  us  :  and  indeed  in  this 
all  the  orthodox  readily  agree.  It  is  not  possible  the  Covenant 
of  Grace  should  be  made  void,  by  any  unbelief  oi  the  elect,  nor 
acquire  its  stability  by  any  faith  in  man."    Herman  Witsius, 

"  The  conditions  being  fulfilled  by  the  Angel  of  the  Cove- 
nant, the  Catholic  Church  v^^as,  through  and  for  him,  consti- 
tuted heir  of  eternal  life,  withoiU  any  conditions.''*    Junius. 

<'  God  has  told  us  that  we  must  rely  on  the  atoning  blood  of 
his  Son  as  the  sole  ground  of  forgiveness.**     Woods*  Letters. 

The  foregoing  quotations  afford  a  clear  view  of  imputative 
righteousness;  it  brings  us  to  the  summit  of  the  Presbyterian 
scheme  ;  gives  the  finishing  stroke  to  the  idol  of  Calvinism  ', 
it  forms  the  cap-stone  of  the  Colossus.  Without  it  the  system 
would  have  been  incomplete.  The  Covenant  of  Grace,  with 
respect  to  us,  has  no  conditions.  We  are,  by  an  eternal  decree, 
justified,  i.  e.  acquitted,  or  discharged,  from  guilt,  without  any 
thing  being  wrought  in  us,  or  done  by  us :  repentance  is  no 
cause  of  pardon  ;  nothing  is  required  of  ms  to  perform.  Unbelief 
cannot  possibly  make  void  the  Covenant  of  Grace,  nor  acquire 
its  stability  by  any  faith  in  man.  In  short,  the  merits  of 
Christ's  death  alone  hath  fdly  purchased  our  redemption,  made 
full  satisfaction  for  all  our  sins,  past,  present,  and  to  come, 
and  thus  constituted  us  heirs  of  eternal  life,  without  any  con- 
ditions ! .' ! 

To  the  texts  of  Scripture  already  advanced  in  opposition  to 
these  opinions,  I  will  add  the  following : 

"He  that  justifeth  the  wicked,  and  he  that  condemneth  the 
just,  even  they  both  are  an  abomination  to  the  Lord."  Prov, 
xvii.  15. 

*»  Let  the  wicked/orsafee  his  ways,  and  the  unrighteous  man 
his  thoughts,  and  let  him  return  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will 
have  mercy,  and  to  our  God  for  he  will  abundantly  pardon." 
Isa.  Iv.  7. 

*•  The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit :  a  broken  and 
contrite  heart,  O  God,  thou  wilt  not  despise."  Psalm  li.  16,  17. 

"  In  every  nation,  he  thAt  feareth  God,  and  worketh  righteous- 
ness, is  accepted  of  liim."     Acts  x.  *,  35. 

"  Repent,  repent :  bring  forth /ntifs  meet  for  repentance." 
Mat  iii.  28. 

'•  Uyf forgive  men  their  trespasses,  your  Heavenly  Father 
will  also  forgive  you."    Mat.  vi.  14. 

K 


7-* 

»<  I  \mve  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  kept  the  faith,  hence- 
forth," &c.     2  Tim.  iv.  7. 

Thus  in  the  above  passages,  and  those  before  quoted,  it  is 
explicitly  declared,  that  the  ground  of  man's  reconciliation 
through  Jesus  Christ,  with  his  Creator,  rests  on  his  "  forsa- 
king his  wicked  ways" — <*  a  broken  and  contrite  heart" — 
<*  repentance" — "  forgiving  men  their  trespasses" — "  abiding 
in  Christ" — *<  keeping  his  commandments" — "  loving  and 
coming  to  the  light" — »<  believing  the  gospel" — "  hearing  the 
word  and  keeping  it" — « dealing  justly,  loving  mercy,  and 
Avalking  humbly" — «<  overcoming  his  evil  propensities" — and 
Lis  final  salvation  and  acceptance,  on  his  '<  continuance  in  well 
doing  to  the  end"  of  life.  And  the  means  by  which  he  is  to 
accomplish  this  great  purpose  of  his  creation,  is  declared  to  be 
**  the  grace  of  God,  which  bringeth  salvation,  and  which  ap- 
peareth  unto  all  meiif  teaching  them,  that,  denying  ungodliness 
and  the  world's  lusts,  they  should  live  soberly,  righteously  and 
godly  in  this  present  world."  Such  is  the  plain,  simple,  reason- 
able, yet  sublime  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  found  in  the  New 
Testament  |  equally  adapted  to  the  highest  and  lowest  capa- 
cities, and  within  the  reach  of  every  condition  of  life  j  no  one 
of  the  human  family  is,  necessarily,  excluded  from  partaking 
of  its  benefits  :  ♦*  For  the  sons  of  the  stranger,  saith  the  Lord, 
even  them  will  I  bring  to  my  holy  mountain,  and  make  them 
joyful  in  my  house  of  prayer:  their  burnt  offerings  and  their 
sacrifices  shall  be  accepted  upon  mine  altar ;  for  my  bouse 
shall  be  called  an  house  of  prayer/or  all  people .-"  and  «♦  in  every 
nation  he  that  feareth  me,  and  worketh  righteousness,  is  ac- 
cepted."    Isaiah  Ivi.  7.  Acts  x.  35. 

Now  between  this  system  and  the  one  I  have  been  review- 
ing, there  is,  I  believe,  fewer  points  of  resemblance,  than  exists 
between  it,  and  that  of  Confucius,  of  Brahma,  or  of  the  impos- 
tor of  Mecca. 

I  am  fully  aw-are  that  some  of  your  moderns  deny  the  eon- 
sequences  which  are  so  clearly  inferable  from  the  Westmin- 
ster Confession  j  but  they  have  failed  to  show  how  any  other 
can  be  drawn  from  the  premises,  and  their  argument  consists 
in  wrapping  the  whole  up  in  mystery  I  Some  have  gone  so  far 
as  to  endanger  their  claim  to  orthodoxy^  by  doubting  the  infal- 
libility of  the  Westminster  divines  :  Yet,  one  of  them,  (Woods) 
in  his  "  Letters  to  the  Unitarians,"  sets  his  seal  to  predesti- 
nation in  the  following  expressions : 

<*  I  could,  as,  I  think,  make  it  appear,  that  the  doctrine  of 
God*s  sovereign  election  is  the  only  doctrine  which  accounts 


75 

satisfactorily/or  the  actual  difference  which  exists  between  true 
believers  and  the  rest  of  the  world.^^ 

<*  We  believe  that  those,  who  are  chosen  of  God  to  salvation, 
are  not  chosen  because  they  were,  in  themselves,  more  worthy 
of  this  blessing  than  others,  tliat  God  looked  upon  their  moral 
feelings  and  conduct  with  the  same  disapprobatiojif  and  had  the 
same  view  of  their  ill  desert,  and  that  he  chose  them,  as  we 
may  say,  for  reasons  of  state  ;  for  general  reasons  in  his  go- 
vernment, which  he  has  not  revealed.'*^  <♦  God  has  a  purpose, 
choice^  will  and  good  pleasure^  respecting  those  who  are  saved  ; 
a  purpose  or  choice  wliich  was  in  the  mind  of  God  htfore  they  ex- 
isted :  a  purpose  which  does  not  rest  upon  any  personal  merit 
in  those,  who  are  its  objects  ;  of  grace,  excluding  all  works  of 
righteousness  from  having  any  concern  in  this  subject,^^ 

**  tN'othing  is  effected  by  the  efforts  of  man,  but  every  thing  de- 
pends on  the  mercy  of  God." 

Here  the  doctrine  of  an  irrespective  decree  is  as  clearly  set 
forth  as  it  is  in  the  Westminster  Confession.  The  conduct 
and  efforts  of  man  have  nothing  to  do  with  his  salvation : 
works  have  no  "  concern  in  itf*  he  is  chosen,  **for  rea- 
sons of  state^''  and  "  God's  sovereign  election  makes  all  the  dif- 
ference between  true  believers,  and  the  rest  of  the  world'*  !  / 

Now,  if  nothing  be  effected  "  by  the  efforts  of  man,"  what 
mean  these  scriptures  :  <*  and  every  man  shall  receive  his  own 
reward  according  to  his  own  labour."  «  For  we  are  labourers 
together  with  God." — 1  Cor.  iii.  8,  9.  "  We  then  as  workers 
together  with  Ikim." — 2  Cor.  vi.  1.  "Give  diligence  to  make 
your  calling  and  election  sure."— 2  Pet-  i.  10.  *' Let  ns 
cleanse  ourselves  from  all  filthiness  of  the  flesh  and  spirit." — 2 
Cor.  vii.  1.  ? 

One  of  the  main  arguments,  it  seems,  is,  with  «  Dr.  Woods," 
in  support  of  predestination,  that  God  has  established  it  *'for 
reasons  of  state.'*  This  mode  of  reasoning  may  be  illustrated 
as  follows  :  The  king  of  France  destroys  at  one  blow,  twenty- 
five  millions  of  his  subjects,  and  the  remaining  five  millions/ 
he  loads  with  all  the  wealth  of  his  kingdom.  Did  these  poor 
souls  whom  he  has  cut  off,  rebel  against  his  government,  or 
commit  any  other  offence  whatever  against  him  ?  He  answers, 
«  none  at  all  !"  The  survivers,  then,  who  are  bending  under 
his  accumulated  favours,  must  have  performed  some  important 
services  ?  He  replies,  "  not  the  least  in  the  world" — *«  I  have 
done  this  "for  reasons  of  state  !  /"  This  reply  ought  to  be  to 
our  learned  divine,  a  convincing  proof  of  the  goodness  and  mercy 
of  this  god-like  king,  who  has  thus  made  «  his  power  knmrn.,  to 
the  praise  of  his  glorious  justice"  ! ! 


76 

It  is  thus  that  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  \vheii 
viewed  tluoui^h  the  dark  mists  of  ancient  ov  modern  Calvinism, 
is  transformed  into  a  hideous  monster.  The  system  may  be 
compared  to  a  false  mirror,  which  so  distorts  the  features  of 
objects,  that  the  images  which  it  reflected,  bear  no  resemblance 
whatever  to  their  originals ;  and  I  think  those  who  refuse  to 
unite  with  you  in  sending  the  gospel  to  the  heathen  in  such  a 
dress,  are  very  justly  entitled  to  their  scruples.  The  following 
quotation  from  a  speech  made  by  Charles  Marsh,  Esq.  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  on  a  missionary  question  then  before  that 
body,  is,  1  think  worthy  of  the  attention  of  every  friend  to  pure 
Christianity. 

After  speaking  of  the  moral  character  of  the  Hindoos,  and 
vindicating  the  m  from  unjust  aspersion,  the  member  continued 
as  follows  :  "  If  Christianity  is  sent  out  to  them,  attributing  to 
the  beneficent  Author  of  Nature,  the  same  morose,  capricious, 
revengeful  passions  which  agitate  the  human  tyrant,  but  with 
infi>>Jty  to  his  power,  and  '-nfiless  duration  to  his  inflictions;  if 
it  was  the  primary  tenet  of  that  doctrine,  that  the  same  being 
had  mad^  a  fanciful  and  arbitrary  destination  of  a  large  por- 
tion of  his  creatures,  without  blame  or  delinquency,  nay,  bpfore 
their  birth,  to  everlasting  misi/vv  ;  and  to  have  as  fancifully 
and  capriciously  destined  the  rest  to  an  eternal  happiness,  un- 
earned by  one  real  merit,  or  one  virtuous  aspiration :  and  if, 
in  this  gloomy  creed,  an  assent  to  mystical  propositions  was 
the  chief  claim  to  salvation,  while  it  pronounced  the  purest  and 
most  exalted  morals  to  be  equivalent  to  the  most  abandoned 
wickedness:  reason  and  common  sense  might  be  allowed  to 
throw  out  a  few  scruples  against  the  subversion  of  the  esta- 
blished morals  or  theology  of  India,  however  absurd  or  super- 
stitious, if  stick  was  the  system  by  which  they  were  to  be 
superceded." 

Before  I  leave  your  Confession  of  Faith,  permit  me  to  call 
your  attention  to  a  few  of  the  many  contradictions  which  it 
contains. 

1.  No  sooner  do  we  cast  our  eyes  on  the  Calvinistic  Babel, 
than  we  perceive  its  unsightly  structure.  It  begins  thus  :  "Al- 
though the  light  of  nature,  and  the  works  of  creation  and  pro- 
vidence, do  so  far  manifest  the  goodness,  wisdom,  and  power 
of  God,  as  to  leave  men  inexctisable  ;  yet  they  are  not  snj^cient 
to  give  that  knowledge  of  God,  and  of  his  will,  which  is  necessary 
unto  salvation.^^  Now  for  what  is  man  held  *'  inexcusable," 
or  criminal  ?  For  not  doing  the  law  or  will  of  God  ;  there  is  no- 
thingclsie.asit  r^^ta'eel;  n.> an's moral o?  i elie'iri>s duties. of v It  ch 
criminality  can  be  predicated.   Here,  then,  God  is  represented 


77 

as  criminating  man  for  not  doing  his  will,  whilst  the  means 
furnisiied  arc  declared  «*  not  sufficient  to  give  that  knowledge 
of  God,  and  of  his  ivill,  which  is  necessary  unto  salvation^' !  I 

2.  In  chap.  V.  6.,  we  are  told  that  God  "  withholdeth  his  grace 
from  the  reprobate,  or  wicked"  :  and  in  ch.  x.  2.  it  is  held  out, 
that  he  forceth  it  upon  the  elect,  or  renders  them  passive*  reci- 
pients. Yet  in  ch.  vii.  3,  it  is  said,  that  Goii  freely  offereth  unto 
sinners  life  and  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ.  Now  as  all  man- 
kind are  included  in  these  two  classes,  to  whom  does  he  make 
this  free  offering  of  grace  and  salvation  ? 

S.  In  ch.  ix.  1,  it  is  said,  **  God  hath  endued  the  will  of 
man  with  that  natural  liberty,  tliat  it  is  neither  forced,  nor  by 
any  absolute  necessity  of  nature,  determined  to  do  good  or  evil." 
Thus,  as  it  respects  his  propensities  to  good  or  evil,  man  is 
by  nature,  perfectly  neutral  :  yet  in  ch.  vi.  4,  it  is  declared 
that  we  are  "  utterly  disabled  (by  nature)  and  made  opposite  to 
all  good,  and  wholly  inclined  to  all  evil"  ! ! 

4.  In  chapter  ix.  2,  it  is  stated,  that  man  in  his  state  of 
innocency  h^i\  freedom  and  power  to  will  and  to  do  that  which  is 
good  and  well  pleasing  to  God,  but  yet  mutably  so,  that  he  might 
fall  from  it.  Here,  then,  man  is  made  free,  either  to  stand  or 
fall ;  but  how  shall  this  be  reconciled  with  God's  eternal  decree, 
fore-ordaining  immutably  and  unchangeably  whatsoever  comes 
to  pass  ? 

5.  In  xvi.  7,  we  are  told  that  works  done  by  unregenerate 
men,  although  things  which  God  commands,  and  of  good  use 
both  to  themselves  and  others,  yet  are  sinful;  and  not  to  do  them 
still  more  sinful.  Is  it  then  sinful  to  do  ♦«  things  which  God 
commands''  i  but  if  sinful,  how  "of  good  use  to  the  sinner''? 
Again,  if  a  sinful  act,  how  can  the  abstaining  from  it  be  *'  still 
more  sinful"  ? 

6.  in  XV.  3,  we  read  that  repentance  cannot  be  considered 
as  a  cause  of  pardon,  yet  of  such  necessity  to  all  sinners  that 
none  may  expect  pardon  without  it  /  If  then  repentance  is  to  be 
made  a  condition  of  salvation,  what  becomes  of  unconditional 
election  ? 

7.  The  above  makes  repentance  a  sine  qua  non  of  pardon ; 
but  by  xi.  1,  we  are  to  understand  that  neither  pardon,  nor 
justification,  is  to  be  experienced  by  any  thing  wrought  in  «s. 
Now  if  the  work  of  repentance  is  not  wrought  in  us,  where  is 
it  wrought  ? 

8.  In  ch.  vi.  1,  it  is  said  that  « the  sin  of  our  first  parents. 
God  was  pleased,  according  to  his  holy  counsel,  to  permit.^' 

*  This  effectual  call  is  of  God's  free  and  special  grace  alone,  not  from  any 
thing  at  all  foreseen  in  man,  -who  is  altosethffr passive  tfcemn."    Chap.  x.  7. 


78 

Now,  his  "holy  counsel,"  as  declared  to  Adam,  was  an  unqualified 
prohibition — •»  Thou  shall  not  eat"  Th«js  God  is  rendered  in- 
consistent with  himself;  at  one  period  forbidding  an  act,  and 
subsequently  allowing  it!!  Again;  in  ch.  v.  4,  we  are  told 
that  the  almighty  power,  unsearchable  wisdom,  and  infinite 
goodness  of  God,  extendeth  itself  even  to  the  Jirst  fall,  and  that 
not  by  a  bare  permission.  Here  the  permissive  will,  asserted 
above,  is  positively  denied,  and  the  absolute  decree  substituted ! 

9.  In  XX.  2,  we  read  that  «  God  alone  is  Lord  of  the  con- 
science" ;  yet  immediately  afterwards,  that  *'  it  is  a  sin  to 
refuse  an  oath,  being  imposed  by  lawful  authority."  Here,  in 
the  first  place,  God  is  made  "  Lord  of  the  conscience,"  but  in 
the  second  place,  man. 

10.  In  xxviii.  1,  it  is  declared,  that  "Baptism  is,  to  the  party 
baptized,  a  sign,  and  seal  of  the  covenant  of  grace  ;  of  his  in- 
grafting into  Christ,  of  regeneration,  of  remission  of  sins,  and 
of  his  giving  up  unto  God  to  walk  in  newness  of  life'' !  This 
wonderful  effect  ot  sprinkling,  seems  to  render  the  decree  of 
election  wholly  superfluous.  We  are  told,  however,  in  the  fol- 
lowing fifth  article  of  the  same  chapter,  that  "  grace  and  sal- 
vation are  not  so  inseparably  annexed  to  it  [sprinkling]  as  that 
all  that  are  baptized  [sprinkled]  are  undoubtedly  regenerated." 
Thus,  in  the  first  clause  sprinkling  is  made  a  seal  of  regenera^ 
tion,  &c.  and  in  the  second,  no  seal  at  all  I 

11.  In  xxviii.  5,  we  are  told  that  <*  it  is  a  great  sin  to  contemn 
or  neglect"  the  ordinance  of  baptism;  yet  that  a  person  can  be 
regenerated  and  saved  without  it.  How  can  a  person  be  <«  re- 
generated and  saved"  whilst  in  the  habitual  commission  of  a 
great  sin  ? 

12.  In  XXX.  1,  it  is  affirmed  that  to  the  officers  of  the  church, 
*<  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  are  committed ;  by  virtue 
whereof  they  have  power  respectively  to  retain  and  remit  sins  ; 
to  shut  that  kingdom  against  the  impenitent,  and  to  open  it 
unto  penitent  sinners"  ! !  We  are  left  to  conjecture  whether 
your  Westminster  divines  got  those  keys  out  of  the  hands  of 
St.  Peter,  or  whether  they  are  only  a/oc  simile.  That  they  are 
of  Popish  origin,  there  can  be  little  doubt,  and  deserve  a  place 
alongside  of  the  sacrificeof  the  mass,  and  the  j7crmif  for  granting 
indulgences. 

13.  In  chap.  xxv.  2,  3,  and  B,  we  read  *<  that, the  visible 
church,  which  is  also  Catholic,  is  the  kingdom  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  house  and  family  of  God"-—**  that  particular 
churches  are  members  thereof,"  and  that  **  the  purest  churches 
under  Heaven  are  subject  both  to  mixture  and  error."  By  this 
we  are  to  understand  that,  as  the  Catholic  church  is  made  up 


7ti 

of  branches^  or  particular  churches,  and  the  luircst  of  these 
are  subject  to  mixture  and  error,  therefore  ;the  Catholic 
church  is  subject  to  mixture  and  error.  But  this  church  is 
here  declared  to  be  the  kingdom  of  tlie  Lord  Jesus  Christ — the 
house  and  family  of  God  :  it  follows,  tlierefore^  that  the  king- 
dom of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ — the  house  and  family  of  God,  is 
subject  both  to  mixture  and  error  !  !  This,  to  say  the  least  of 
it,  is  strange  doctrine.  In  Tim.  iii.  15.  it  is  said  that  the 
church  of  God  is  the  pillar  and  ground  of  truth  ;  and  in  I  Cor. 
i.  2.  that  this  church  is  composed  of  them  that  arc  sa?idi^ed  ; 
and  further,  we  are  taught  from  the  same  high  authority,  that 
nothing  impure^  unrighteous,  or  unholy,  can  ever  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  the  Lord. 

14.  In  chap.  x.  3.  it  is  said  that  "  Elect  infants  dying  in 
infancy  are  regenerated  and  saved  by  Christ,  through  the 
Spirit,  who  worketh  when,  and  where,  and  how  he  pleaseth." 
*<  So  also  are  alt  other  eleet  persons,  who  are  incapable  of  being 
outwardly  called,  by  the  ministry  of  the  word,'''  Here  then 
salvation,  through  Christ,  is  admitted  to  some  who,  by  bodily 
or  mental  infirmity,  cannot  have  any  outward  knowledge  of 
Christ,  or  the  Christian  religion.  Yet  in  the  following  article 
it  is  affirmed,  that  «  men  not  possessing  the  Christian  religion,''^ 
(outwardly)  cannot  possibly  be  saved,  and  to  "  assert  and 
maintain  that  they  may,  \s  very  pernicious  and  to  be  detested.^^  ! 
Moreover,  seeing  that  millions  of  the  heathens  not  possessing 
the  Christian  religion  outwardly,  has  arisen  from  causes  as 
much  beyond  their  controiiL  as  mental  and  bodily  infirmities, 
how  is  it  that  salvation  is  granted  to  the  latter,  yet  made  im- 
possible to  any  of  me  former,  especially  as  the  spirit  is  declar- 
ed in  the  saviwg  of  souls  to  work  *'when  and  where,  and  how 
he  pleaseth*^  ? 

15.  By  the  3rd  chapter  we  learn  that  all  things  are  decreed 
immutably  and  infallibly,  with  all  the  means  thereunto  ,•  but 
in  the  vth.  3.  we  are  told  that  **  God  ordereth  them  to  fall  oxit, 
according  to  the  nature  of  second  causes,  either  necessarily, 
freely,  ov  contingently^''^  that  is  to  say,  by  accident  1 1 !  Here 
then  we  have  God  first  foreordaining  all  things,  and  then  order- 
ing them  to  fall  out  by  accident  1 1 

16.  In  chap.  i.  9.  your  divines  tell  us  that  "  the  infallible 
rule  of  the  interpretation  of  Scripture  is  the  Scripture  itself:'* 
yet  they  previously  "  acknowledge"  in  art.  vi.  of  the  same 
chapter,  <*  the  inward  illumination  of  the  spirit  of  God  to  be 
necessary  for  the  saving  understanding"  thereof.  Now  this  is 
■omething  else  besides  the  '*  Scripture  itself." 


80 

17.  In  chap.  i.  1.  it  is  said  « those  former  ways  of  God's 
rev<*armg  his  will  are  now  ceased."  Now  one  of  these  <*  former 
ways"  is,  no  doubt,  internal  revelation,  which  your  divines  thus 
assert  to  have  ceaserf ;  yet  in  art.  vi.  they  admit  *«  the  illumi- 
nation of  the  spirit  of  God :"  and  again  in  art.  v.  they  say 
«  Our  full  persuasion  and  assurance  of  the  infallible  truth  and 
divine  authority  of  the  Scriptures  is  from  the  inward  work  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  bearing  witness,  by  and  with  the  word  in  our 
hearts."  Now  by  what  name  shall  we  call  this  *'  inward  work 
of  tlie  Holy  Spirit,'*  if  it  be  not  an  internal  revelation? 

18.  In  chap.  xiii.  2.  we  read  that  "  sanctification  is  throngk- 
Qut,  in  the  whole  man.'^  By  this,  I  presume,  is  meant,  (if  there 
be  any  meaning  in  it)  that  the  «'  whole  man,"  or  man,  in  every 
part,  is  made  holy:  yet  immediately  afterwards  it  is  added, 
*'  there  abideth  still  some  remnants  of  corruption  in  every  parV'l 
which  it  is  said  continues  more  or  less  during  "  this  life'' ! 
Again,  in  the  same  chapter,  article  1,  we  are  truly  told,  that 
♦<  without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord."  But  if  «  some 
remnant  of  corruption  in  every  part,'*  continueth  during  this 
life,  who  I  ask,  shall  ever  see  the  Lord  ?  For,  "  as  the  tree  falls 
so  it  lies"?  Nothing  short  of  a  purgatory,  can  relieve  your 
divines  from  this  serious  dilemma. 

19.  The  Confession  says,  that  prayer  is  to  be  made  «<  for 
all  sorts  of  men  living,  or  that  shall  live  hereafter."  Ch.  xxi. 
4.  Now  the  words  "  all  sorts'^  include  the  reprobate;  do  you 
pray  for  the  salvation  of  the  reprobate  f  Your  divines  have 
given  much  glory  to  God  for  fixing,  by  an  irrespective,  irre- 
vocable decree,  his  eternal  destruction :  how  vain,  then,  and 
inconsistent  must  be  such  prayers !  ! 

I  here  close  this  brief  review  of  your  Confession  of  Faith — 
this  <'  stupendous  fabric  o{  human  invention  ;"  in  the  formation 
of  which,  reason  and  Scripture  have  been  sacrificed  on  the  altar 
of  Calvinism.  In  it  we  have  a  monument  of  the  truth  of  the 
Scripture  declaration:  that  *«  the  things  of  God  knoweth  no 
man,  but  the  Spirit  of  God."  An  example  of  what  theologians 
can  accomplisii,  in  piloting  the  religious  traveller  to  the  gates 
of  Zion.  An  evidence  of  the  extent  to  which  the  human  under- 
standing may  be  obscured,  vitiated,  and  corrupted,  when  en- 
listed in  the  support  of  particular  systems,  creeds,  or  pre- 
conceived opinions. 

It  will  be  the  subject  of  my  next  letter  to  inquire  how  far 
those  errors  in  doctrine  have  operated  in  producing  errors  in 
practice.  For  doctrine,  abstractedly  considered,  whether  true 
or  false,  is  of  importance,  no  further  than  it  influences  our  lives 
and  conduct.    We  shall  not  be  asked,  in  the  day  of  awful  dici- 


81 

sion,  respecting  our  opinions, — whether  we  had  espoused  the 
dojiinas  ot  Calvin,  Fox,  or  Wesley.  The  glorious  welcome  of 
<♦  ct)me  ye  blessed,*'  or  the  appalling  sentence  of  *'  begone  ye 
cursed, '  will  not  turn  on  the  point  of  our  having  used  or  rejected 
water  baptism,  or  the  Eucharist;  ofour  having  read  the  Bible, or 
the  Koran,  or  the  Shaslers,  or  worshipped  the  Great  Spirit  after 
the  tradition  ofour  fathers,  in  the  wilds  of  America.  But  we 
all  shall  be  judged  "  according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body, 
whether  they  be  good,  or  whether  they  be  evil" — "  And  the\ 
books  were  opened,  and  another  book  was  opened,  which  is  the  \ 
book  of  life,  and  the  dead  were  judged  out  of  those  things,  which  ' 
were  written  in  the  b(»ok,  accarding  to  their  works."  Rev.  xx. 
12.  These  are  not  the  works  of  the  flesh,  «<  which  profitcth 
nothing,"  nor  the  righteousness  of  self^  which  is  "  as  filthy 
rags  ;"  but  the  works  done  through  obedience  to  the  operation 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  our  hearts,  "  a  manifestation  whereof  is 
given  to  every  man  to  profit  withal." 

Your  theologians,  ««  ever  learning,  yet  never  able  to  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,"  have  written  volumes  on  the 
ineflScacy  oi  works  :  they  have  succeeded,  truly,  in  darkening 
the  subject  by  «'  words  without  knowledge  :"  they  have  piaced 
the  most  exalted  virtues  on  a  level  with  the  most  abandoned 
wickedness :  and  the  sum  of  religion,  it  would  seem,  consists 
•with  them  in  an  assent  of  the  tongue  to  certain  incomprehen- 
sible propositions,  and  which  they  call  faith.  Now  this  is  the 
kind  of  faith  which  the  apostle  declares  is  a  dead  faith  :  a  faith 
which  is  overcome  of  the  world:  a  faith  *' without  works." 
The  worfes  which  are  excluded  by  the  apostle  from  justification, 
are  not  the  works  of  the  new  covenant,  the  good  works  pro- 
duced in  the  saints  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  some  have  erro- 
neously imagined,  but  the  <'  works  of  the  law" — tho  works  of 
the  flesh  which  profit  nothing  ;  according  to  the  declaration  of 
our  blessed  Lord  :  «  It  is  the  Spirit  that  quickeneth  ;  the  flesh 
profitcth  nothing."  John  vi  63.  And  what  are  the  works  of  the 
flesh?  Water-baptisms  ;  sprinklings  ;  eating  bread  and  wine  ;* 

*  In  these  remarks,  it  is  far,  very  far  from  my  intentions  to  wound  the  feelings 
of  any,  who  are  travelling  towards  "  the  City  of  the  Saints  Solemnity,"  in  that 
path,  wherein  the  wayfaring  man,  though  a  fool,  cannot  err  In  tlxe  love  of 
the  gospel  I  can  address  all  such,  of  every  profession  under  heaven,  with  the 
salutation  of  "  God  speed  '*  But  to  such  as  teach  and  cherish  a  vain  belief, 
that  these  rites  are  "a  seal  of  the  covenant  of  grace,"  of  an  ingraffing  into 
Cihrist,  and  a  remission  of  sins  ;  that  in  the  use  of  the  bread  and  wine  there  ia 
an  actual  partaking,  and  a  spiritual  "  feeding  on  Christ  crucified,  and  all  bene- 
fits of  liis  death,"  agreeably  to  the  Presbyterian  Confession  of  Faith — to  such, 
1  would  address  myself  in  the  language  of  the  apostle — "  How  turn  ye  again  to 
the  beggarly  elements,  whereunto  ye  desire  again  to  be  in  bondage  ?"  1  believe 
Baptism  is  used  by  SQme  as  merely  an  outward  form  of  initiation  into  the  visible 

L 


82 

approaching  God  with  the  tongue  and  with  the  lips,  when  the 
heart  is  far  from  him ;  with  the  whole  parade  of  will-worship  and 
an  outward,  carnal,  religion,  and  bestowing  charities  to  be  seen, 
or  known  of  men  :— such  are  some  of  the  works  of  the  flesh,  and 
are  before  God  stsjllthy  rags.  But  the  work  of  repentance  and 
regeneration,  wrought  in  the  secret  of  the  soul :  dealing  justly ; 
loving  mercy ;  walking  humbly  ;  worshipping  God  **  in  spirit 
and  in  truth  5"  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  in  measure,  brought 
forth  in  man,  by  submitting  himself  to  the  cleansing  operation 
of  spiritual  baptism,  and  being  thus  sprinkled  from  an  evil,  and 
«  and  having  the  answer  of  a  good  conscience  :"  these  are  the 
works  which  will  ever  build  up,  and  nourish  a  saving  faith, 
that  overcometh  the  world  5  these  are  the  works  which  we  may 
plead,  and  not  in  vain,  in  the  awful  day  of  account.  In  fine, 
these  are  the  works,  and  no  other,  which  are  acceptable  to  God, 
because  produced  by  the  operation  of  his  Holy  Spirit  in  the 
heart  and  soul  of  man  ;  and  it  is  thus  that  we  are  washed ;— ■ 
not  with  elementary  water  :  it  is  thus  that  faith  is  fed— not  with 
bread  and  wine  :  and  it  is  thus  that  we  are  sanctified  and  justi- 
fied ;  not  by  an  eternal  decree  ;  but  <*  in  the  name  (which  is  the 
power)  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God,''^ 

church  ;  and  the  Eucharist  as  a  commemoration  only  of  the  death  of  Christ  ; 
and  when  thus  used,  the  principal  objections  against  these  rites  vanish.  Yet 
here,  it  is  difficult  to  perceive  their  utility.  Why  should  a  humble  follower  of 
Christ,  think  it  needful  to  resort  to  a  cumbersome  rite,  once  or  twice  a  month, 
to  bring  events  to  his  recollection,  which,  if  he  deserve  the  name  of  a  Christian, 
must  be  daily  passing  through  his  mind,  and  for  which  he  is  "  oftener  than 
the  momijjg,"  breathing  forth  the  tribute  of  gratitude  ami  praise  i 


LETTER  IV. 


PRESBYTERIAN  PRACTICE. 


OF  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARIES  AND  AN  EDUCATED   HIRELDSTG 

MINISTRY. 

*'  And  out  of  the  smoke  of  the  pit  there  cain«>  forth  locustaon  the  earth.'* 

Rev.  ix.  4. 

MY  inquiries  in  this  and  the  subsequent  letter,  will  relate 
to  practical  subjects ;  matters  of  fact,  and  therefore  of  the  first 
importance.  If  there  be  any  weight  in  the  declaration  of  our 
Lord,  it  is  by  their  fruits  that  we  are  to  know  and  to  judge 
both  of  individuals,  and  of  communities.  ' 

The  extraordinary  exertions  which  your  society  are  making 
to  found  schools  for  the  education  of  men,  qualify  them,  pro- 
fessedly, to  preach  the  gospel  at  home  and  abroad,  force  upon 
the  mind,  your  theological  system  as  the  first  and  most  promi- 
nent subject  for  consideration.  I  shall  Uierefore  inquire,  briefly, 
how  far  your  practice  herein  is  consistent  with  the  precepts  and 
examples  of  Scripture,  and  the  dictates  of  reason ;  and  also 
how  far  the  result  of  experience  gives  it  sanction. 

It  is  declared  in  your  Confession  of  Faith,  that  the  holy 
Scriptures  «  are  given  by  inspiration  to  be  the  rule  of  faith  and 
life  ;"  and  all  your  writers  hold  them  forth  as  the  primary,  ade- 
quate, and  onUj  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  Whatever  evidence, 
therefore,  these  writings  afford  on  this  and  every  other  subject 
relating  to  faith  and  practice,  ought  to  be,  with  you,  entirely 
conclusive.  Now,  I  affirm,  without  tlie  fear  of  contradiction, 
that  there  is  not,  in  all  the  New  Testament,  either  precept  or 
example  that  sanctions,  directly,  or  indirectly,  any  such  insti- 
tutions as  theological  seminaries,  to  make  ministers  of  the  gos- 
pel. On  the  contrary,  almost  every  page  thereof  bears  testi- 
mony to  the  vanity,  the  folly,  and  the  entire  insufficiency  of 
human  learning,  wisdom,  and  science,  when  brought  to  bear 
upon  this  subject. 

The  conduct  of  our  Saviour,  if  it  is  to  have  any  weight,  saps 
the  very  foundation  of  your  theological  system.   He  chose  poor. 


81 

illiterate;  despised  fishermen  and  mechanics,  as  the  fittest  sub- 
jects to  receive  and  propagate  his  gosptl.  With  the  learned 
Scribes  and  Pharisees,  the  theologians  of  that  day.  He  had  no 
place  ;  on  the  contrary,  they  opposed,  persecuted,  and  finally 
bri^ught  him  to  the  cross.  «*  I  thank  thee,  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth,"  says  Christ,  *'  because  thou  liast  hid  tliese  things  from 
the  \vise  and  prudenff  and  revealed  them  unto  babes.''*  Who 
were  the  wise  and  prudent?  Those  who  opposed  and  rejected 
his  gfispel,  and  among  these  the  Chief  Priests  and  Scribes, 
Jewish  doctors  of  divinity,  stood  in  the  front  ranks.  Who 
were  the  babes?  Such  as  Simon,  and  Andrew,  and  James,  and 
John,  meek,  humble,  simple,  but  honest  men,  whose  thoughts 
*'  proud  science  never  taught  to  stray ;"  whose  *»  illiterate 
heads"  were  not  filled  with  school  divinity,  nor  hearts  devoted 
or  interested  in  the  support  and  defence  of  any  particular  creed 
or  system  of  theology. 

Next  to  our  Saviour's  testimony  ranks  that  of  the  Apostle  Paul, 
who  is  a  host  of  himself.  Now  Paul  was  a  theologian,  an  edu- 
cated minister,  and  a  persecuter  of  the  true  Church.  The  simple 
invitation  of  «'  Follow  me,"  was  enough  for  the  honest  hearted 
fishermen  of  Gallilee ;  « they  straightway  left  their  nets  and 
followed  him."  But  our  reverend  divine,  brought  up  at  the 
feet  of  the  Professor  Gamaliel,  nothing  short  of  a  miraculous 
exertion  of  divine  power,  would  do  for  him  :  nothing  short  of 
an  extraordinary  light  fivjm  heaven  could  dispel  the  thick  mist 
of  school  divinity,  with  wliich  he  was  enveloped  !  !  But  now  his 
spiritual  eyes  are  openett,  and  he  exclaims  :  *<  Where  is  the 
wise  ?  Where  is  the  scribe  t  Where  is  the  disputer  of  this 
world  ?  Hath  not  God  made  foolish  the  wisdom  of  this  world  ? 
For  it  written,  I  will  destroy  the  wisdom  of  the  wise,  and 
bring  to  naught  the  understanding  of  the  prudent ;  for  the 
foolishness  of  God  is  wiser  than  men,  and  the  weakness  of  God 
is  stronger  than  men" — "  For  God  hath  chosen  the  foolish 
things  of  the  world,  to  confound  the  wise,  and  the  weak  things 
of  the  world  to  confound  the  things  that  are  mighty ;  and  base 
things  of  the  world,  and  things  that  are  despised,  hath  God 
chosen,  yea,  and  things  which  are  not,  to  bring  to  naught 
things  that  are  ;  that  no  Jiesh  might  glory  in  his  presence.''*  •<  Fop 
Christ,"  he  continues,  «  sent  me  to  preach  the  gospel,  not  with 
wisdom  of  wofds,  lest  the  cross  of  Christ  should  be  made  of 
none  effect^** — <*  and  my  speech,  and  my  preaching  was  wofwfiA 
enticing  words  of  man's  wisdom,  but  in  demonstration  of  the  spirit 
and  with  power  ;  that  your  faith  should  not  stand  in  the  wisdom 
of  muju  but  in  i-ie  power  of  God.**  1  Cor.  i.  i9,  20,  '^5,  27, 
28,  29-- ii.  4,  5,  &e.    The  above  quotations  sufficiently  prove, 


85 

that  the  qualifications  necessary  to  constitute  a  disciple  of  our 
Lord,  or  a  minister  of  his  gospel,  are  very  different  from  those 
which  human  learning,  human  wisdom,  or  human  theology  can 
possibly  confer.  We  shall  now  inquire  what  those  qualifications 
are,  and  through  what  medium  they  are  obtained  ? 

1.  In  order  to  be  a  minister  of  Christ,  a  man  must  first  be  a 
Christian.  What  can  make  a  Christian  ?  Can  human  learning, 
or  the  study  of  theology?  No! — The  virtue  and  power  of 
divine  grace — the  spirit  of  God  alone,  can  effect  the  work,  and 
which  is  proved  by  the  following  Scriptures :  *'  He  that  hath 
not  the  Spirit  of  Christ  is  none  of  his" — «  As  many  as  are  led 
hy  the  Spirit  of  God,  are  the  sons  of  God" — "  Know  ye  not 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  in  you,  except  ye  be  reprobates  r" — "  1  am,, 
says  Christ,  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life  :  no  man  cometh 
unto  the  Father  but  by  me" — "  What  man,  says  the  apostle, 
knoweth  the  things  of  a  man,  save  the  spirit  of  a  man  which  is 
in  him  ?  Even  so  the  things  of  God  knoweth  no  man,  but  the 
Spirit  of  God." — And  further  :  <*  We  have,  says  he,  received 
not  the  spirit  of  the  world,  but  the  spirit  which  is  of  God,  that 
we  might  know  the  things  which  are  freely  given  us  of  God"-— . 
<*  For  the  spirit  searcheth  all  things,  even  the  deep  things  of 
God" — "  And  no  man  can  say  that  Jesus  is  the  Lord  but  by 
the  Holy  Ghost." 

2.  If  therefore  no  man  can  say  (or  know)  that  Jesus  is  the 
Lord  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  if  he  that  hath  not  the  Spirit 
of  God  be  none  of  his,  much  less  can  any  one  be  a  minister  of 
Christ's  gospel,  without  the  movings  and  drawings  of  his  Holy 
Spirit.  There  are  many  testimonies  to  its  influences  under  the 
old  dispensation.  Thus,  it  rested  on  the  seventy  elders — reached 
unto  two  that  were  not  in  the  tabernacle,  but  in  the  camp  :  and 
in  Neh.  ch.  ix.  we  read  :  "  Thou  gavest  also  thy  good  Spirit  to 
instruct  them" — «  Yet  many  years  didst  thou  forbear  and  tes- 
tify against  them  hy  thy  spirit  in  thy  prophets"— •<  Take  not, 
says  David,  thy  Holy  Spirit  from  me"—"  Uphold  me  by  thy 
free  Spirit" — "  And  now,  says  Isaiah,  the  Lord  God  and  his 
Spirit  hath  sent  me."  In  short,  it  was  by  and  through  this  holy 
unction,  that  all  the  prophets  spake  from  Moses  to  Malachi ; 
and  these  revelations  were  the  objects  of  the  faith  of  all  the  saints 
of  old. 

Seeing,  therefore,  that  the  direct  and  immediate  drawings  and 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  abounded  in  the  prophets  and  ministers 
under  the  old  outward  covenant,  are  not  its  teaching  and  direction 
to  be  sought,  and  regarded  under  the  more  inward  and  spiritual 
one  in  which  we  now  live?  To  decide  this  qaestion  I  need 
only  appeal  to  the  holy  apostle,  in  the  third  and  fourth  chapters 


86 

to  the  Corinthians :  «  Who  also,^*  says  he,  <«  hath  made  us  able 
ministers  of  the  New  Testament ;  not  of  the  letter,  but  of  the 
spirit ;  for  the  letter  killethf  hut  the  spirit  giveth  life."  "  But  if 
the  ministration  of  death,  written  and  engraven  on  stones, 
was  glorious" — '*  how  shall  not  the  ministration  of  the  spirit  he 
rather  glorious?'*  «  For  we  ^redLch  not  ourselves,  but  Christ 
Jesus  the  Lord  j  and  ourselves,  your  servants,  for  Jesus'  sake," 
<*  But  we  have  this  treasure  in  earthen  vessels,  that  the  excel- 
lency of  the  power  may  be  of  God,  and  not  of  «s." 

3.  The  declarations  and  instructions  of  Christ  to  his  disci- 
ples, are  conclusive  on  this  subject.  He  commanded  them 
*<  not  to  depart  from  Jerusalem,  but  wait  for  the  promise  of  the 
Father."  And  «  ye,  says  he,  shall  receive  power,  after  that 
the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you*' — «  without  me  ye  can  do 
nothing."  **  I  will  give  you  a  mouth  and  wisdom,  which  all 
your  adversaries  shall  not  be  able  to  gainsay,  nor  resist."  "  For 
it  is  not  ye  that  speak,  but  the  spirit  of  your  Father  that 
speaketh  in  you" — *<  and  lo.  Jam  with  you  always,  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world."  Here  the  promise  to  be  with  them,  is 
not  limited  to  those  whom  he  was  then  addressing,  but  to  all  his 
disciples  and  ministers  that  should  come  after  them,  «  even  to 
the  end  of  the  world." 

4.  I  will  conclude  the  testimonies  of  inspiration  upon  this 
subject,  by  adding  the  following  texts,  taken,  promiscuously, 
from  both  the  Old  and  New  Testaments. 

»<  If  any  man  speak,"  says  the  apostle  Peter,  «*  let  him 
speak  as  the  oracles  of  God :  If  any  man  minister,  let  him  do 
it  as  of  the  ability  which  God  giveth."  «*  No  man,"  says  Paul, 
"  taketh  this  honour  unto  himself,  ftjif  he  that  is  called  of  God, 
as  was  Aaron."  Tbe  apostles  « testified  of  what  they  had 
seen,  heard,  felt,  and  handled  of  the  word  of  life.'  «  Minis- 
tering the  gift  according  as  they  had  received  the  same,  as  good 
stewards  of  the  manifold  grace  of  God.  "  O,  Timothy,  keep 
that  which  is  committed  to  thy  trust,  avoiding  profane  and  vain 
babblings,  and  opposition  of  science,  falsely  so  called."  «  Now, 
concerning  spiritual  gifts,  brethren,  I  would  not  have  you  ig- 
norant"— for  "  the  manifestation  of  the  spirit  is  given  to  every 
man  to  profit  withal.  For  to  one  is  given,  by  the  spirit,  the 
word  of  wisdom  ;  to  another  faith ;  to  another  prophecy,  &c. — 
But  all  these  worketh  that  one  and  the  same  spirit,  dividing  to 
every  man  severally  as  he  will," — **  for  ye  need  not  that  any 
man  teach  you,  but  as  the  same  anointing  teacheth  you  all 
things,  and  is  truth,  and  is  no  lie."  «  Having,  then,  gifts  ac- 
cording to  the  grace  that  is  given  us,  whether  prophesy,  let  us 
prophesy  according  to  the  proportion  of  faith :  or  ministry,  let  us 


87 

wait  on  our  ministering,  or  he  that  teacheth,  on  teaching,"  &;c. 
«*  desire  spiritual  gifts — quench  not  the  spirit,  nor  despise  pro- 
phesyings."  "  /  sent  them  not,  nor  commanded  them,  therefore 
they  shall  not  projit  this  people  at  all,"  saith  the  Lord.  «  Ac- 
cording to  the  grace  of  God  which  is  given  unto  me,  I  have  laid 
the  foundation."  "  For,  though  I  be  rude  in  speech,  yet  not  in 
knowledge  ;" — and  he  gave  some  apostles,  and  some  prophets, 
and  some  evangelists,  and  some  pastors  and  teachers,  for  the 
work  of  the  ministry ,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ," 
<*  The  Jews  require  a  sign,  and  the  Greeks  seek  after  wisdom" 
— «  for  the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  spirit  of 
God,  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him  ;  neither  can  he  know 
them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned.  For  it  is  written, 
I  will  destroy  the  wisdom  of  the  wise,  and  bring  to  naught 
the  understanding  of  the  prudent."  *<  For  ye  see  your  calling 
brethren,  how  that  not  many  wise  men  after  thejiesh,  not  many 
mighty f  not  many  noble  are  called ;  for,  God  hath  chosen  the 
foolish  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise"—**  which 
things  also  we  speak  ;  not  in  the  words  which  man's  wisdom 
teacheth,  but  which  the  Holy  Ghost  teacheth." 

I  think  it  needless  to  enlarge,  or  to  add  much  by  way  of 
comment,  on  what  I  have  quoted.  Any  one  who,  after  reading 
the  New  Testament,  should  believe  that  a  minister  of  the  gos- 
pel can  acquire  any  one  of  his  qualifications  for  that  station, 
from  a  modern  Theological  Seminary^  must  be  fairly  priest- 
ridden. 


II.  The  dictates  of  reason^  not  less  than  the  Scriptures,  reject  you) 
theological  system. 

It  has  been  the  practice  of  the  priesthood,  in  every  age,  since 
the  days  of  the  apostles  and  primitive  christians,  to  present  re- 
ligion to  mankind  enshrouded  in  mysticism,  and  clogged  with 
ridiculous,  unavailing  rites  and  ceremonies:  to  cry" down  hu- 
man reason,  and  to  endeavour  to  bring  the  understandings  of 
men  into  bondage,  by  requiring  an  implicit  faith  in  dogmas 
founded  on  mysterious  propositions.  The  further  religion  is 
placed  beyond  the  reach  of  intellectual  inquiry,  the  greater 
necessity  there  is  for  a  priest  to  expound  and  teach  it :  the 
more  rites  and  ceremonies  are  multiplied,  the  more  indispensa- 
ble it  becomes  to  have  administrators  to  apply  and  enforce  them. 
Hence,  it  is  impossible  not  to  perceive  the  grand  cause  and  ori- 


88 

gin  of  the  spurious  systems  of  religion  which  to  this  day  pre 
vail  throughout  the  world.  And  whilst  mankind  continue  to 
confer  riches  and  honour  on  priests  and  professors,  for  pretend- 
ing to  teach  them  that  which  they  already  know,  and  for  pre- 
tending to  do  that  for  them  which  they  can  only  do  for  them- 
selves, there  will  never  be  an  end  to  absurd  creeds  and  systems, 
iior  graceless  zealots  to  defend  them  ;  and  religion  will  continue 
to  be  encumbered  with  a  load  of  superstitious  rites,  and  a  swarra 
of  hireling  teachers,  «'  ever  learning,  yet  never  able  to  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  " 

The  means  which  an  infinitely  merciful  God  has  appointed 
to  bring  his  rational  creation  into  the  possession  of  eternal 
happiness,  can  be  nothing  short  of  universal  ;  they  are  placed 
within  the  reach  of  every  soul,  and  hence  must  be  beyond  the 
controul  of  contingent  causes.  The  laws  of  life  are  declared  by 
inspiration  to  be  «  written  not  with  ink,  but  with  the  spirit  of 
the  living  God  ;  not  in  tables  of  stone  (or  on  paper  only)  but  on 
fleshly  tables  of  the  heart."  "  But  this  shall  be  the  covenant 
that  I  will  make  with  the  house  of  Israel ;  after  those  days, 
saith  the  Lord,  I  will  put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts,  and 
write  it  in  their  hearts,"  A  power  to  obey  or  disobey  this  law 
(however  dangerous)  is  man's  prerogative.  "  Choose  ye  this 
day  whom  ye  will  serve" — « I  have  set  before  you  life  and 
death,  blessing  and  cursing."  Thus  man  is  endowed  with^ree 
'Will.  Take  that  away,  and  he  is  no  longer  any  thing  but  a 
machine,  put  into  action  by  the  pleasure  or  contrivance  of  a 
power  witliout  him  :  no  longer  accountable  for  his  actions,  nor 
a  fit  subject  for  rewards  and  punishments.  Hence  the  law  of 
God  being  written  in  his  heart,  man  has  no  need  of  a  learned 
priest,  to  teach  or  expound  it : — "  And  they  shall  teach  no  more 
every  man  his  neighbour,  and  every  man  his  brother,  saying, 
know  the  Lord  5  for  they  shall  all  know  me,  from  the  least  of 
them,  unto  the  greatest  of  them,  saith  the  Lord."  Now  this 
is  a  reasonable  system  j  a  system  adapted  to  the  human  under- 
standing as  well  as  to  every  possible  condition  of  life.  It  leaves 
the  Deity  in  possession  of  his  attributes  oiinjinite  mercy,  good- 
ness, and  justice  ;  and  by  making  man  a/ree  agent,  he  is  thereby 
properly  and  justly  accountable  to  God  for  the  use  of  the  privi- 
leges granted  him. 

No  means,  therefore,  which  are  contingent,  or  accidental, 
can  be  considered  as  essential  to  man's  salvation.  But  a  doctor 
of  divinity  ;  an  outward  teacher,  and  the  possession  of  the 
Scriptures,  are  all  contingent  means,  dependent  on  circum- 
stances and  events  not  under  man's  controul  they  are  not, 
then,  tssentiaL    A  man  born  at  Constantinople,  Pekin,   or 


89 

Mogadore,  does  not,  cannot  possess  tliem.  Shall  he,  there- 
fore, perish  forever?  Yes  ;  according  to  your  system,  the  mis- 
fortune of  being  born  in  a  heathen  land  renders  man,  necessa- 
rily, an  object  of  God's  eternal,  vindictive  wrath !  Yet  you 
say  the  decree  of  God,  made  before  time  M^as,  placed  him  there ! 
He  is  no  longer,  then,  to  be  esteemed  a  God  "  equal  in  all  his 
ways  ,•"  and  his  attributes  of  infinite  mercy,  infinite  goodness, 
and  infinite  justice,  are  mere  nonentities  ! ! 

That  human  learning  and  the  study  of  theology,  are  not 
means  by  which  man  can  be  made  a  practical  teacher  of 
religion,  is  further  inferred  from  the  nature  of  the  gospel; 
which  the  apostle  declares  to  be  <*  the  power  of  God  unto  salva- 
tdon."  Moreover,  "Our  gospel,"  says  he,  **came  not  unto 
you  in  word  only^  but  also  in  power  and  in  the  Holy  Ghost.*^  And 
further  :  «<  But  I  certify  you,  brethren,  that  the  gospel  which 
was  preached  of  me  is  not  after  man.  For  I  neither  received 
it  of  man,  neither  was  I  taught  it,  but  by  the  revelation  of  Jesus 
Christ."  But  the  gospel  which  your  ministers  preach,  is  after 
man ;  obtained  in  theological  seminaries  :■ — tliey  are  taught  if, 
not  by  revelation,  wAicA  they  deny,  but  by  a  professor  of  divinity. 
If,  therefore,  we  are  to  believe  the  apostle's  testimony,  the 
gospel  which  he  preached,  and  that  which  your  divines  preach, 
are  two  very  different  gospels.  They  enter  into  the  sheepfold, 
not  by  Christ,  (Jiis  revelation)  but  through  another  door, — the 
door  of  a  seminary.  These  ministers  declare  their  gospel 
♦<  in  word  only  .-"  they  have  received  it  in  the  letter,  and  as  no 
stream  can  rise  higher  than  its  source,  they  become  ministers 
«  of  the  letter  only,  which  killeth,"  and  not  ministers  of  the 
spirit,  which  "  givoth  life."  "  For  the  gospel,"  says  Dell,  <*  is 
the  word  of  faith  ;  which  word  is  the  word  in  our  hearts,  ac- 
cording to  the  tenor  of  the  new  covenant,  wherein  God  saith, 
« I  will  write  my  law  in  their  hearts,  and  put  it  in  their  inward 
parts:*  But  now  the  university  divines,  the  truth  being  indeed 
dead  in  their  hearts,  and  having  no  presence  nor  power 
there,  they  take  it  up  out  of  the  books  and  writings  of  men, 
wherein  it  hath  been  buried  :  and  by  this  means  brkig  forth  a 
dead  doctrine  to  the  world  (which  other  men  have  sjwken,  but 
themselves  have  no  experience  of j  and  not  the  word  of  life, 
which  liath  quickened  them  ;  but  only  a  dead  letter,  raised  up 
like  the  living  letter,  which  they  present  to  them  ;  as  the  witch 
of  Endor  raised  up  a  dead  Samuel,  in  the  outward  habit  and 
appearance  of  the  living  Samuel,  and  presented  him  to  Saul: 
So  these  university  divines,  bring  forth  the  outward  garment 
and  appearance  of  the  truth  to  the  people,  when  they  do  best ; 

M 


90 

I)ut  the  substance,  soul,  and  life  of  the  truth,  they  cannot  bring 
forth ;  because  they  have  not  the  living  word  of  God  in  their 
hearts,  but  have  only  a  dead  word,  which  they  gather  out 
of  the  books  and  writings  of  men.  And  this  the  university 
divinity." 

The  evangelical  prophet,  looking,  in  the  vision  of  light 
through  the  long  vista  of  futurity,  saw  clearly  into  the  nature  of 
the  gospel  plan  :  *«  A  highway,"  says  he,  "shall  be  there ;  and 
it  shall  be  called  the  way  of  holiness :  the  unclean  shall  not 
pass  over  it ;  but  it  shall  be  for  these,  the  way-faring  men, 
though  foolSf  (as  to  worldly  wisdom  and  learning  shall  not  err 
therein,"  And  another  of  the  prophets  declares  :  "  He  hath 
shewed  thee,  0  man,  what  is  good;  and  what  doth  the  Lord 
require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk 
humbly  with  thy  God  ?"  Even  in  your  own  Confession  of  Faith, 
chapter  i.  7,  we  are  told,  that  *«  those  things  necessary  to  be 
known,  believed,  and  observed,  for  salvation,  are  so  clearly 
propounded  and  opened,  in  some  place  of  Scripture  or  other, 
that  not  only  the  learned,  but  the  unlearned,  in  a  due  use  of 
the  ordinary  means^  may  attain  unto  a  sufficient  understanding 
of  them." 


III.  The  result  of  experience. 

THIS  is  a  highly  important  and  conclusive  branch  of  the 
inquiry.  Practice,  and  practice  only,  must  decide  the  charac- 
ter, test  the  truth  or  falsity  of  all  systems  which  are  capable 
of  being  tried  by  this  certain  standard.  Now  from  the  evidence 
furnished  by  the  New  Testament,  it  is  demonstrable,  that  the 
theology  and  learning  of  that  time,  were  so  far  from  being 
made  instrumental  in  the  propagation  of  the  gospel,  that  they 
were  found  the  strong^est  barriers  to  its  progress.  "  Christ 
crucified,"  says  the  apostle,  <•  was  to  the  Jews  (the  Chief  Priests 
and  Scribes)  a  stumbling  block,  and  unto  the  Greeks,  (the  most 
learned  nation  of  that  day)  foolishness."  But  I  have  above 
shown  the  bearing  which  the  Scripture  has  on  this  subject.  I 
will  proceed  to  call  your  attention  to  the  testimony  furnished 
by  ecclesiastical  history.  In  Mosheim,  Vol.  i.  page  110,  we 
find  the  following  remarks  : 

"  The  method  of  teaching  the  sacred  doctrines  of  religion, 
was,  at  this  time,  (the  first  and  second  centuries)  most  simple, 
far  removed  from  all  the  subtle  rules  of  philosophy,  and  all  the 
precepts  of  human  art.  This  appears  abundantly;  not  only  in 
the  writings  of  the  apostles,  but  also  in  all  those  ef  the  second 


91 

rentnry  whicli  have  survived  the  ruins  of  time.    Neither  did 
the  apostles,  or  their  diseiples  ever  think,  of  culledin!;  into  a 
regular  system^  the  principal  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religi'>n, 
or  of  demonstrating  them  in  a  .scientific  or  geometrical  order. 
The  beautiful  and  candid  simplicity  of  those  early  ages,  ren- 
dered such  philosophical  niceties  unnecessary ;  and  the  great 
study  of  those  who  embraced  the  gospel,  was  rather  to  express 
its  divine  influence  in  their  dispositions  and  actions^  than  to  exa- 
mine its  doctrine  with  an  excessive  curiosity,  or  to  explain 
them  by  the  rules  of  human  wisdom,^*     In  page  114,  the  same 
author  continues  :  "  We  may  here  remark,  in  general,  that  the 
apostolic  fathers,  and  the  other  writers,  who,  in  the  infancy  of 
the  church,  employed  their  pens  in  the  cause  of  Christianity, 
were  neither  remarkable  for  their  learning  nor  their  eloquence. 
They  express  the  most  pious  and  admirable  sentiments,  in  the 
plainest  and  most  illiterate  style.     This  indeed  is  rather  a  mat' 
ter  of  honour  than  of  reproach  to  the  Christian  cause  ;  since  we 
see  from  the  conversion  of  a  great  part  of  mankind  to  the  gospel 
by   the   ministry  of  weak  and  illiterate  men,   the  pro- 
gress of  Christianity  is  not  to  be  attributed  to  human  means 
hut  to  a  divine  porver," 

Now,  let  us  compare  the  assertions  of  Lyman  Beecher,  one 
of  your  very  orthodox  men,  with  the  above  historical  evidence, 
confirmed  by  a  "  cloud  of  witnesses."  In  an  address  to  the 
<•  Connecticut  Charitable  Society  for  the  education  of  indigent, 
pious  young  men  for  the  ministry,"  which  has  been  printed 
and  gone  through  two  or  three  editions,  tbis  author  makes  the 
following  declarations :  "  Men  unacquainted  with  theology  are 
unable  to  exert  that  religious  and  moral  influence  which  it 
belongs  to  the  ministry  to  exert :" — *'  'I'he  influence  of  such 
illiterate  men  is  totally  incompetent  to  arrest  human  depra 
vity  :*' — "  Illiterate  men  have  never  been  the  chosen  instruments 
of  God  to  build  up  his  cause." 

Such  gross  misrepresentations,  made  in  opposition  to  well 
known  facts,  exhibit  a  degree,  either  of  fanatical  delusion,  or 
unblushing  eff*rontery,  to  which  we  may  in  vain  seek  a  parallel, 
except  in  the  annals  of  Popery.  But  further  :  in  the  same  ad- 
dress the  author  calculates  that  there  are  in  the  United  States, 
about  three  thousand  educated  ministers  ;  and,  taking  the  Euro- 
pean plan  for  his  model,  where  he  says  there  is  one  minister 
for  every  thousand,  he  hence  infers  a  deficiency  of  five  thousand 
ministers,  and  consequently  about  five  millions  of  souls,  '*  desti- 
tute of  competent  religious  instruction.''*  *' There  are,"  continues 
h« ,  *'  fifteen  hundred  illiterate  ministers,  (besides  the  above 
three  thousand)  but  they  are  unacquainted  with  theology,  and 


9^ 

therefore  unable  to  exert  that  religious,  and  moral,  and  literary 
influence  which  it  belongs  to  the  ministry  to  exert." 

This  deficiency  of  five  thousand  ministers,  is  no  doubt  predi- 
cated on  the  report  made,  (to  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Mis- 
sions, I  believe,)  by  Mills  and  Schermerhorn,  alluded  to  in  my 
second  letter.  In  this  report  these  missionaries  have  excluded 
the  ministers  of  the  Methodists,  Quakers,  and  Baptists,  as  not 
worthy  of  being  noted,  because  too  illiterate  to  *'  exert  any 
moral  influence."  Thus,  in  their  letters  published  in  the 
<*  Luminary,"  they  declare  that  from  St.  Louis  to  Boon^s  Lick, 
a  space  of  about  two  hundred  miles,  was  as  destitute,  or  needs 
missionary  labour  as  much  as  the  empire  of  Burmah,  when 
there  were  in  tliat  very  space  eleven  Baptist  Churches  and 
about  thirteen  or  fourteen  ordained  preachers.* 

That  the  Methodists  and  Quakers  are  also  excluded,  in  your 
calculations,  from  having  any  **  part  or  lot'*  in  the  gospel  mi- 
nistry, may  be  inferred  from  the  following  extract  of  a  letter 
from  one  of  your  ministers,  Thomas  C.  Searle,  found  in  the 
Wesleyan  Repository,  vol.  i.  page  97,  and  dated  Indiana,  May 
5th,  1S21 :  "We  have  a  state,"  says  the  writer,  *<  containing 
thirty-four  thousand  square  miles  of  territory,  and  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  inhabitants.  To  supply  the  spiritual  wants 
of  this  great  and  rapidly  increasing  community  rve  have  old 
and  young,  firm  and  infirm,  about  ten  ministers,  who  have  been 
classically  and  theologically  educated  for  the  ministry.  Could  our 
brethren  in  the  east  see  the  anxiety  with  which  these  simple 
heartedf  and  I  trust,  pious  souls,  are  straining  every  nerve  to 
establish  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  among  them,  surely  it 
would  reward  past  exertions  and  stimulate  to  new  efforts." 

What  an  awful  concern  !  the  salvation  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  souls  scattered  over  a  surface  of  thirty-four 
thousand  square  miles,  dependent  on  the  exertions  of  ten 
« classically  and  theologically  educated  ministers :"  no  less 
than  fifteen  thousand  to  each  minister  !  Now  it  is  an  incontro- 
vertible fact,  that  the  Methodists  alone  "  have  there  many 
ministers  and  many  flourishing  societies  ;"  and  the  Quakers, 
the  last  year  established  a  Yearly  Meeting  in  that  state,  consti- 
tuted of  not  less  than  sixty  different  meetings,  a  large  propor* 
tion  of  which  are  in  Indiana. 

Intending,  in  the  sequel,  to  return  to  this  part  of  the  subject, 
in  order  to  show,  that  the  views  of  your  clergy  as  set  forth  in 
the  foregoing  quotations,  may  be  explained,  on  a  diff*erent  prin- 
ciple than  Sk  mere  fanatical  delusion,  I  will  here  digress  a  little, 

♦  Vid.— Thoughts  on  ftfissiens,  by  Jojflj  Taylor^ 


03 

to  answer  the  silly  imputation  so  frequently  cast  on  the  Qua-' 
kers  and  others  who  oppose  theological  seminaries,  **that  they 
are  enemies  to  literature,  and  the  friends  to  ignorance,"  &c. 
Now,  as  it  respects  the  Quakers,  (and  I  believe  the  Methodists 
also,)  nothing  can  be  further  from  the  truth.  As  far  as  human 
learning  is  limitted  to  its  natural  and  proper  object,  that  of  a 
mean  to  convey  a  knowledge  of  men  and  of  human  affairs,  no 
people  estimate  it  higher  than  the  Quakers.  In  all  their 
monthly  meetings  provision  is  made  for  educating  those  of  the 
society  who  are  destitute  of  means ;  and  in  these  meetings  the 
query  "  Do  the  poor  freely  partake  of  learning  ?"  is  annually 
read,  and  the  answers  sent  up  to  the  superior  meetings,  so  that 
if  any  defect  should  be  discovered,  in  carrying  this  salutary 
part  of  the  discipline  into  effect,  in  any  part  of  society,  the  proper 
remedy  may  be  applied.  Hence  it  is,  that  no  society  on  earth, 
take  them  as  a  body,  are  better  informed  than  they,  in  that 
kind  of  knowledge,  which  is  subservient  to  the  common  pur- 
poses of  life,  and  which  may  guard  them  against  encroach- 
ments upon  their  rights,  both  temporal  and  spiritual.  The 
Quakers  are  well  aware,  that  it  is,  under  Providence,  to  a 
more  enlarged  acquaintance  with  men  and  things,  than  is  pos- 
sessed by  other  nations,  which  has,  in  a  great  measure,  pro- 
tected, and  wc  hope,  in  God,  will  continue  to  protect  the  people 
of  this  land,  from  the  ambitious  designs  of  a  set  of  men  who 
have  in  every  age,  made  use  of  ignorance  and  superstition  as 
the  means  of  tyrannizing  over  the  consciences  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  effecting  their  own  elevation  at  the  expense  both 
of  their  temporal  and  spiritual  rights.  As  no  people  since 
the  reformation  have  suffered  more  from  a  mercenary  priest- 
hood, than  they,  so  none  are  more  on  their  guard  ;  and  it  is  an 
essential  part  of  a  Quaker's  education,  to  make  him  acquainted 
with  the  length  and  the  bi'eadth,  the  height  and  the  depth  of 
priestcraft.  Human  learning,  therefore,  when  applied  to  these 
uses,  is  of  great  importance  to  mankind.  But  we  object  only 
to  its  abuse;  we  oppose  the  mischievous  and  fatal  error  of 
making  it  the  basis  on  which  to  build  up  a  gospel  ministry. 
Would  it  not  be  the  height  of  absurdity  to  charge  a  farmer 
witli  a  love  of  ignorance,  because  he  refuses  to  put  his  son  to 
the  study  of  law  to  teach  him  how  to  plough  and  sow  his  field  ? 
Not  less  absurd  is  it  to  argue  the  necessity  of  learning  Latin 
and  Greek  to  qualify  a  man  to  teach  ihe  plain,  simple,  and 
self-evident  precepts  of  Jesus  Christ ;  of  reading  the  ^nei<J, 
lUiad,  and  Odessy  :  the  history  and  characters  of  the  heathen 
deities,  as  a  mean  to  become  acquainted  with  the  God  of 
Israel  5— of  studying  the  Latin  poets,  lascivious  and  immoral, 


9'i: 

to  enable  liim  to  subdue  his  own  lusts,  and  to  teach  to  others 
the  pure  morality  of  the  gospel ;  in  fine,— of  filling  his  head  with 
theological  jargon,  in  order  that  he  may  comprehend  the  doc- 
trine of  the  new  covenant,  obvious  to  the  meanest  capacity,  and 
engraven  by  the  finger  of  God  "on  the  fleshly  tables  of  the 
human  heart.'* 

Returning  from  this  digression,  I  continue  to  trace  the  ef- 
fects of  theological  systems,  by  the  clear  light  of  experirnce. 
"We  have  found  the  theologians  of  our  Saviour's  time,  in  a  state 
comparable  to  old  bottles,  unfit  to  receive  the  «  new  wine  of  the 
kingdom  ;" — already  filled  with  a  fermenting  mass  of  school 
divinity,  and  *"  vaunting  their  profound  knowledge  of  the  law, 
and  their  deep  science  in  spiritual  and  divine  things,  yet  con- 
stantly showing  (like  our  moderns)  their  fallibility  and  their 
ignorance,    by   their  religious   differences"— divided   among 
themselves,  "  into  a  great  variety  of  sects,  their  mutual  fears 
of  each  other,  (with  the  controuling  influence  of  the  civil  power 
of  the  Romans,)  were  the  reasons  of  their  mutual  forbearance  !" 
Those  of  them  who  joined  the  Christian  church,  retained  enough 
of  the  old  leaven  to  produce,  by  the  controversies  which  they 
raised,  much  trouble  and  schism  among  the  believers ;  to  which 
St.  Paul  alludes  in  his  epistle  to  the  Romans.     Now,  this  de- 
scription of  the  Jewish  and  Samaritan  divines,  will  apply,  in 
tlie  general,  to  the  theologians  of  every  age  to  the  present  day  ; 
and  I  confidently  appeal  to  all  history  for  the  confirmation  of 
this  assertion.     Puffed  up  and  *'  vaunting  their  profound  know- 
ledge"  always  prepared  for  controversial  warfare,  and  the 

persecution  of  the  weaker  sects,  when  thwarting  their  ambi- 
tion, unless  prevented  by  the  civil  power. 

During  the  first  century,  and  part  of  the  second,  the  gospel 
continued  to  spread,  and  shine  forth  in  all  its  attractive  beauty 
and  sublimity.  "  At  this  time,  says  Mosheim,  (Vol.  i.  page 
183)  there  was  not  the  least  controversy  about  those  capital 
doctrines  of  Christianity,  which  were  afterwards  so  keenly 
debated  in  the  church,"  "  This  is  not  surprising,  continues 
the  same  author,  for  the  bishops  of  these  times  were  plain  and 
illiteraie  «ie?i."  Again,  « the  number  of  learned  men,  which 
was  very  small  in  the  preceding  (first)  century,  grew  conside- 
rably in  this — and  the  christian  doctor s,  began  to  introduce  their 
s^ihilc  and  obscure  erudition  into  the  religion  of  Jesus  ;  to  involve 
in  the  darkness  of  a  vain  philosophy,  some  of  the  principal 
truths  of  Christianity,  that  had  been  revealed  with  the  utmost 
plainness,  and  was  indeed  ohvio^ts  to  the  meanest  capacity." 
*<  But  this  venerable  simplicity  wasof  short  duration;  its  beauty 

*  See  Mosh€im's  Eel.  His.  vol.  i.  pp.  42, 44, 122. 


9fy 

was  gradually  effaced  by  the  laborious  efforts  of  human  learn.' 
ing  and  the  dark  subtleties  of  imaginary  science."  Vol.  i.  pp, 
175,  183. 

Thus,  whilst  men  looked  only  to  the  grace  of  Go<l,  and  the 
pure  manifestations  thereof,  to  qualify  them  for  the  ministry  ', 
peace  and  purity  reigned  among  them,  and  thousands,  through 
their  preaching,  flocked  to  the  standard  of  Jesus.  No  contro- 
versies arose,  except  what  were  excited  by  the  Jewish  divines, 
**for  the  bishops  were  plain  and  illiterate  nic«."  But  as  soon  as 
*'  the  Christian  doctors  began  to  introduce  their  subtle  erudition 
into  the  religion  of  Jesus ;"  as  soon  as  they  began  to  place  their 
reliance  on  the  study  of  letters  and  divinity,  for  qualifications 
to  preach  the  gospel,  how  the  whole  scene  changes  !  Contro- 
versies, schisms,  persecutions  follow  in  rapid  succession  ;  and, 
instead  of  a  ministry,  <*  shod  with  the  preparation  of  the  gospel 
of  peace,"  and  clothed  with  the  whole  armour  of  God  ;  the  breast 
plate  of  rigliteousness ;  the  shield  of  faith ;  the  sword  of  the 
spirit ;  and  the  helmet  of  salvation  ;  we  behold  a  tribe  of  theo- 
logians, inspired  by  the  demon  of  discord,  and  corrupt,  mer- 
cenary, and  ambitious,  in  the  highest  degree.  This  is  well 
attested  by  the  writers  of  those  times,  upon  whose  authority 
Mosheim  presents  the  following  statements  : 

2d  Century. — The  Christian  doctors  had  the  good  fortune  to 
persuade  the  people  that  the  ministers  of  the  Christian  church 
succeeded  to  the  character,  rights,  and  privileges  of  the  Jew- 
ish priesthood.     Vol.  i.  179. 

Synods  were  first  established  about  the  middle  of  the  second 
century.  They  abridged  the  privileges  of  the  people,  and 
increased  the  power  of  the  bishops  :  turned  their  influence  into 
dominion,  and  their  councils  into  laws.     Vol.  i.  179. 

An  aspiring  clergy  claiming  the  rights  of  the  priests  under 
the  Mosaic  dispensation,  introduce  tithes,  first  fruits,  splendid 
garments,  and  other  circumstances  of  external  grandeur, 
Vol.  i.  203. 

Various  divisions  and  heresies  in  the  second  century,  pro- 
duced by  the  Christian  doctors  and  philosophers.  Vol.  i.  220^ 
240. 

3d  Century. — The  Christian  doctors  who  had  applied  them- 
selves to  the  study  of  letters  and  philosophy  soon  abandoned 
the  frequented  paths,  and  struck  out  into  the  devious  wilds  ot 
fancy.     Vol.  i.  273. 

The  pride  and  arrogance  of  the  bishops  increase  in  this  cen- 
tury, and  the  vices  of  the  clergy  become  great.     Vol.  i.  265. 

4:th  Centiiry. — The  subject  «>f  this  fatal  controversy  which 
kindled  such  deplorable  divisions  throughout  the  Christian 


96 

world,  was  the  doctrine  of  three  persons  in  the  Godhead ;  a 
doctrine,  which  in  the  three  preceding  centuries  had  happily 
'escaped  the  vain  curiosity  of  human  researches,  and  been  left 
undefined,  and  undetermined  by  any  particular  set  of  ideas. 
Vol.  i.  410. 

In  this  century  was  introduced  the  monstrous  doctrine  that 
it  was  an  act  of  vii'tue  to  deceive  and  lie,  when  by  that  means 
the  interests  of  the  church  mi^ht  be  promoted  ;  and  also,  that 
errors  in  religion,  when  persisted  in,  were  punishable  with 
civil  penalties  and  corporeal  tortures.    Vol.  i.  382. 

Bth  Century. — The  deplorable  schisms  which  divided  the 
churches,  flowed  chiefly  from  the  unchristian  controversies  for 
dominion  and  supremacy  which  reigned  among  those  who  set 
themselves  up  for  the  fathers  and  defenders  of  the  church.  Vol. 
ii.  28. 

The  vices  of  the  clergy  were  now  carried  to  the  most  enor- 
mous length.     Vol.  ii.  30. 

The  sacred  and  venerable  simplicity  of  the  primitive  times, 
which  required  no  more  than  a  true  faith  in  the  word  of  God, 
and  a  sincere  obedience  to  his  holy  laws,  appeared  little  better 
than  rusticity  and  ignorance  to  the  subtle  doctors  of  this  quib^ 
bling  age.     Vol.  ii.  38. 

6th  &  7th  Centuries. — The  arts  of  a  rapacious  priesthood 
were  practised  upon  the  ignoY-ant  devotion  of  the  simple.  Vol. 
ii.  214. 

«  The  disputes  about  pre-eminence  continue.  The  vices 
of  the  clergy  increase.  Neither  bishops  nor  presbyters,  nor 
deacons,  nor  even  the  cloistered  monks,  were  exempt  from  the 
general  contagion  ;  and  in  those  very  places  that  were  conse- 
crated to  the  advancement  of  piety  and  the  service  of  God, 
there  was  little  else  to  be  seen,  than  ghostly  ambition,  insatia- 
ble avarice,  pious  frauds,  intolerable  pride,  the  supercilious 
contempt  of  the  natural  rights  of  the  people,  with  many  other 
vices  still  more  enormous."     Vol.  ii.  171. 

From  the  seventh  century  to  the  dawn  of  the  reformation  in 
the  sixteenth,  the  state  of  the  church  (if  church  it  can  be 
called)  grew  worse  and  worse  ;  and  the  "  classically  and  theo- 
logically educated"  clergy,  became  still  more  than  before,  emi- 
nently "  distinguished  for  their  gluttony,  luxury,  and  lust :" 
and  the  immense  donations  that  were  made  to  them  by  an  ig- 
norant, superstitious  people,  furnished  them  with  ample  means 
of  indulging  in  all  manner  of  excess.  "  The  piety  in  vogue, 
consisted  in  building  and  embellishing  churches  and  chapels, 
in  endowing  monasteries,,  in  crusades  to  the  Holy  JLand^  and 


97 

in  missions  to  the  heathens."  <*  The  oriental  doctors,"  says 
Mosheim,  "  miserably  divided  among  themselves,  and  involved 
in  the  bitterest  contentions  and  quarrels  with  the  western 
churches,  lost  all  notion  of  the  true  spirit  and  genius  of  Chris- 
tianity," and  religion  at  this  time,  *•  consisted  almost  entirely 
in  a  motley  round  of  external  rites  and  ceremonies.  The  theo- 
logians kept  the  Christian  world  in  a  constant  agitation,  and 
endless  controversies  about  the  Trinity,  the  Eucharist,  Bap- 
tisms, Predestination,  the  worship  of  saints  and  images,  and 
other  superstitious,  unavailing  rites  j  and  failing  to  convince 
each  otlier  by  arguments,  councils  and  synods,  and  having 
succeeding  in  uniting  the  civil  with  the  ecclesiastical  states, 
they  resorted  to  the  sword,  the  torture,  fire  and  fagot,  and 
millions,  and  tens  of  millions,  expiated  their  supposed  heresies, 
on  the  altar  of  orthodoxy  I ! 

Such  are  some  of  the  characteristic  features,  displayed  by  a 
"classically  and  theologically"  educated  ministry  for  more  than 
fifteen  hundred  years;  yet,  notwithstanding  all  this  counter 
testimony,  not  less  ample  than  incontrovertible,  your  writers 
and  ministers  gravely  tell  us,  that  no  other  ministry  is  capable 
of  exciting  a  proper  moral  influence  in  society  ;  and  that  it  is  a 
ministry  classically  and  theologically  educated,  and  no  other, 
that  God  has  always  made  use  of  to  build  up  his  cause  ! ! ! 

In  contemplating  the  impressions,  moral  and  religious,  made 
upon  society  by  school  divinitij  in  every  age,  and  in  all  its  varie- 
ties, for  sixteen  hundred  years,  from  the  self-righteous  Phari- 
see, tithing  mint,  cummin  and  rue,  down  to  the  disciple  of 
Loyola,  inculcating  a  morality,  not  less  dangerous  than  licen- 
tious ; — in  tracing  the  character  of  the  theologian,  whether 
moulded  in  the  Jewish  temple,  or  the  Alexandrian  school ;  or 
issuing  from  the  Lyceum,  tlie  Academy,  or  the  famous  institu- 
tion, *'  de  propaganda  fide";  or  armed  with  polemical  weapons, 
forged  in  tliC  more  modern  manufactories,  Cambridge,  Oxford, 
or  Andover;  in  every  individual  of  the  species,  we  still  find 
the  same  generic  features.  Puffed  up  with  his  carnal  wisdom, 
and  vaunting  his  superior  knowledge  ;  seeking  controversy  ; 
ambitious  of  titles,  fame,  wealth  and  worldly  honours ;  and 
producing  every  where,  contentions,  quarrels,  schisms,  and 
persecutions  in  the  Christian  church  ;  changing  "the  fruitful 
field"  into  a  wilderness  ;  the  refreshing  pool  into  "  parched 
ground;"  and  converting  into  "  a  habitation  for  dragons,"  the 
most  beautiful  places  of  Zion,  where  "  grew  the  grass,  with 
reeds  and  rushes  !" 

Martin  Luther,  the  reformer,  in  testifying  against  the  school 
divinity  of  his  time,  su])posed  that  the  vision  in  the  9th  chapter 

N 


gs 

of  Revelations,  from  verse  2d  to  12tli,  had  reference  to  this 
subject.  The  analoj^y,  indeed,  is  so  very  striking,  that  hardly 
any  one  could  fail  of  making  an  application  so  perfectly  easy 
and  natural. 

Jliid  he  opened  the  bottomless  pit ;  and  there  arose  a  smoke  out 
of  the  pity  as  the  smoke  of  a  great  furnace  :  and  the  sun  and  the 
air  were  darkened,  by  reason  of  the  smoke  of  the  pit.  Theology, 
with  all  ♦*  human  doctrines,"  may,  very  aptly  be  compared  to  a 
smoke ;  and  its  effect  is  to  blind  the  spiritual  vision,  interposing, 
as  a  dark  cloud,  between  God  and  the  human  soul. 

^nd  there  came  out  of  the  smoke  locusts  upon  the  earth,  and 
unto  them  was  given  power  as  the  scorpions  of'  the  earth  have 
power. 

The  species  of  locust  here  selected  for  a  comparison,  as 
far  as  it  relates  to  its  capacity  for  devastation,  is  no  doubt  the 
African  locust  spoken  of  by  Riley  in  his  Narrative.  *<Near 
the  mildde  of  this  valley,  says  he,  p.  473,  we  stopped  to  take 
our  liinner — my  mind  was  absorbed  in  contemplating  the  riches 
and  beauties  of  bountiful  nature,  wlien  I  observed  something 
that  appeared  like  a  cloud  of  thick  smoke,  rising  over  the  hill  at 
the  north-east,  and  with  the  wind  approaching  as  rapidly  :  I 
remarked  to  my  Jew,  that  there  must  be  a  monstrous  fire  in 
that  quarter ;  no  said  he,  they  are  only  lucusts.  In  the  mean 
time  the  flight  was  fast  approaching,  and  soon  came  within  a 
short  distance,  and  directly  towards  us.  Every  labourer's  at- 
tention was  immediately  turned  from  his  plough  and  other  em- 
ployment: the  oxen  were  stopped  and  every  one  stood  aghast 
with  apprehension  and  dismay  painted  in  strong  colours,  on  his 
anxious  countenance,  fearing  that  his  field  was  to  become  a 
prey  to  this  devouring  plague.  We  were  about  two  hours  in 
passing  this  host  of  destroyers,  which,  when  on  the  wing,  made 
a  sound  as  finely  described  in  holy  writ,  "like  the  rushing  of 
horses  into  battle." 

This  figure  applies  both  in  a  spiritual  and  temporal  sense. 
Wherever  *»  power  has  been  given"  the  clergy,  the  kind  of 
**  moral  influence  exerted,"  has  been  a  laying  waste  the  walls 
of  Zion,  devastating  her  fruitful  fields,  and  green  pastures: 
and  their  extortion  in  the  shape  of  tithes,  church  rates,  and 
a  variety  of  other  ecclesiastical  demands,  have  largely  contri- 
buted to  produce  wretchedness  and  oppression  in  the  fairest 
and  most  bountiful  countries  on  the  globe. 

**  And  their  torment  was  as  the  torment  of  a  scorpion,  when  he 
striketh  a  man-~and  the  shapes  of  the  locusts  were  like  unto  horses 
prepared  for  battle.''*  The  millions,  that  have  been  wounded  in 
their  consciences,  persecuted,  tortured,  and  burnt  for  their  reli- 


99 

gious  opinions,  by  a  *'  classically  and  tlicologically  educated 
ministry,"  bear  ample  testimony  to  this  siin^  ;  their  unceas- 
ing controversies,  and  quarrels,  and  scholastic  disputations,  jus- 
tify the  comparison  of  these  divines  to  horses,  fierce  and  war 
like — **  prepared  for  battle." 

*'  *i}id  on  their  heads  were,  as  it  were  crowns  of  gold" — alluding 
to  titles  and  degrees  which  they  confer  on  each  other,  such  as 
Doctor  of  Divinity;  Reverend;  Right  Reverend,  &c.  &;c.: 
**  and  these  crowned  ones  John  Huss  called  hypocritas  coronatos, 
crowned  hypocrites  :  and  by  reason  of  these  crowns,  they  have 
authority  and  power  among  the  multitudes  of  carnal  Christians. 
Yet  have  they  not  true  crowns,  but,  as  it  were,  crowns  of  gold, 
which  yet  they  are  very  proud  of,  and  are  much  puffed  up  with 
them,  though  usually  they  are  set  on  the  head  of  ignorance 
and  error-' — »« ^nd  they  had  hair  as  the  hair  of  women" 
Effeminate  in  their  habits;  weak  in  that  faith,  '*  which  work- 
eth  by  love  to  the  purifying  of  the  heart" — their  ministry, 
without  power.  "  And  their  teeth  were  as  the  teeth  of  lions.*' 
No  set  of  men  have  warred  more  fiercely,  nor  bitten  more 
sharply ;  each  sect  striving  for  supremacy,  and  wanting  to 
reign  alone.  *<  dnd  they  had  breast-plates,  as  it  were,  breast- 
plates of  iron.**  *' And  this  is  the  pertinaceous  and  confident 
presumption  of  each  sect,  on  the  truth  and  soundness  of  his 
opinion:  and  by  these  breast-plates  they  are  unconquerable; 
and  these  are  the  principles  of  each  sect" — "  Jnd  they  had  a 
king  over  them,  which  is  the  angel  of  the  bottomless  pit,  whose 
name  in  the  Hebrew  tongue  is  Abaddon,  but  in  the  Greek  tongue  he 
hath  his  name  Apollyon*' — "that  is,  a  waster  and  destroyer  of  the 
church." — "The  deplorable  schisms,"  saysMosheim,  "which 
divided  the  churches,  flowed  chiefly  from  the  unchristian  con- 
troversies for  dominion  and  supremacy,  which  reigned  among 
those  who  set  themselves  up/or  the  fathers,  and  defenders  of  the 
church.** 

It  has  been  a  common  practice  witli  Protestants,  to  reproach 
the  clergy  of  the  church  of  Rome,  almost  exclusively ,  with  bigotry 
and  a  persecuting  spirit.  A  candid  attention  to  historical  fact, 
will  show  such  a  charge  to  be  highly  unjust.  The  «  classically 
and  theologically  educated  ministry"  of  every  sect  in  Pro- 
testant Christendom,  have,  in  proportion  to  their  numbers  and 
their  power,  yielded  to  this  odious  propensity,  to  a  degree  little 
inferior  to  that  of  the  h(dy  see.  If  by  the  latter,  more  vic- 
tims have  suffered,  it  ought  to  be  remembered  that  her  power 
extended  over  all  Christendom,  and  that  power  was  absolute. 
If  her  clergy  exceeded  in  pride,  and  arrogance,  and  bigotry, 
let  it  not  be  forgotten,  that  kings  knelt  before  them,  and  em- 


100 

perors  Lowed  at  their  mandates ;  whilst  superstition  and  igno- 
rance loaded  them  with  riches  and  lionours. 

Any  other  system  of  theology,  under  similar  circumstances, 
•would  have  produced  the  same  results.  Scholastic  divinity  and 
persecution  are  twin  brothers  ;  and  the  moment  the  first  creed 
"Was  penned  by  scholastic  divines,  that  moment  were  sown  the 
seeds  of  persecution,  and  the  union  of  church  and  state,  wher- 
ever it  took  place,  has  produced  a  rapid  vegetation,  and  an 
abundant  harvest  of  suffering  victims. 

It  is  thus  that  human  learning  and  theology,  when  made  the 
medium  of  initiation  into  the  ministry,  seem  to  have  had  the 
powers  which  fiction  ascribed  to  the  enchantress  Circes  of 
changing  men  into  wolves  and  tigers.  The  creeds  and  systems, 
that  have  been  the  results  of  their  carnal,  finite,  fallible  con- 
ceptions, have  been,  each  in  its  turn,  set  up  as  the  measure  of 
conscience;  the  standard  of  or//^odo.r^/ ,*  and,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  bed  of  Procrustes,  these  theologians  have  proceeded  to  the 
work  of  lopping  and  stretching,  in  order  to  bring  all  to  their 
owi'  dimensions. 

For  a  confirmation  of  what  I  have  said  on  persecution  by  the 
Protestant  divines,  I  refer  the  reader  to  Neal's  History  of  the 
Puritans  ;  Besse's  Sufferings  of  the  Quakers  ;  Fox's  book  of 
Martyrs,  and  the  History  of  Modern  Europe.  No  sooner  was 
Episcopacy  established  in  England  under  Queen  Elizabeth, 
than  the  clergy  of  that  persuasion,  commenced  an  unrelenting 
war  upon  all  dissenters.  The  clerical  cry,  "  the  church  is  in 
danger,"  was  set  up,  and  every  priest  became  an  inquisitor, 
and  every  prision  an  inquisition.  Thousands  were  inoarcerated 
for  lion- conformity,  and  treated  worse  than  felons.  Many 
perished  in  prison,  by  cold,  hunger,  and  corporeal  inflictions  ; 
others  were  banished,  and  a  number  under  the  reign  of  Eliza- 
beth, were  executed.  This  state  of  things  continued  during  the 
reigns  of  James  I.  the  two  Charles',  and  Cromwell.  In  Scot- 
land, when  the  Presbyterian  clergy  gained  the  ascendancy, 
they  exhibited  a  temper  and  zeal  equalled  only  by  the  barba- 
rous ages :  **  They  committed,"  says  the  historian,  ♦*  furious  de- 
vastations on  the  sacred  buildings,  laying  waste  every  thing 
Tenerable  and  magnificent,  that  had  escaped  the  storm  of  pop  ular 
insurrection.  Abbeys,  cathedrals,  churches,  libraries,  records, 
and  even  the  sepulchres  of  the  dead  perished  in  one  common  ruin  :" 
*<wlth  such  indecent  haste  did  the  very  persons  who  had  just 
escaped  the  rigor  of  ecclesiastical  tyranny,  proceed  to  imitate 
those  examples  of  severity,  of  which  they  had  so  justly  com- 
plained."— Mod.  Eur.  vol.  ii.  400,  401.  The  same  violence 
appeared  in  this  sect,  during  the  Protectorship,  and  afterwards 


101 

in  New  England,  and  in  short,  on  every  occasion  where  power 
was  put  into  their  iiands,  of  which  I  shall  speak  more  fully  in 
another  place. 

Ot  all  the  sects  in  Christendom,  none  suffered  so  much  from 
the  Protestant  clergy  as  the  Quakers.     Their  hold,  undaunted 
arid  steady   opposition   to  a  corrupt,  mercenary,  and  hireling 
priesthood,  and  their  expositions  ot  the  mysteries  of  priesteratt 
united   all  the  Li^vitical  tribe  against  them,  wliose  language 
was  that  of  the  Chief  Priests  and  Pharisees  of  old — *'  If  we 
let  him  thus  alone,  all  men  will  believe  on  him,    and  the   Ro- 
mans shall  come  and  take  away  our  place  and  nation."  Acting 
under  these  apprehensions,  the  theologians  excited  the  people 
and  the  magistrates  to  commit  the  most  unheard  of  outrages. 
The  Quakers  were  fined  and  imprisoned  for  using  the  plain 
language  ;  for  not  taking  off  the  hat ;  for  refusing  to  swear, 
and  other  similar  pretexts.     Many  died  in  piison,  and  many 
from  abuses  of  the  rabble  set  on  by  the  priests  ;  and  many  were 
banished  from  their  families.    The  grossest  falsehoods  and  mis- 
representations of  them,  flowed  from  the  press  and  the  pulpit^ 
and  found  their  way  into  civil  and  ecclesiastical  history,  and 
we  may  now  read  in  Mosheim,  Burnet,  Cotton  Mather,   and 
other  historians,  for  the  most  part  correct  on  other  subjects,  the 
most  palpable  falsehoods  respecting  the  doctrines  and  practices 
of  those  people.     "  The  poor  Quakers,  says  Jefferson,  were 
flying  from  persecution  from  England.     They  cast  their  eyes 
on  these  new  countries  as  asylums  of  civil  and  religious  free- 
dom ;  but  they  found  therrr-free  only  for  the  reigning  sect.     Se- 
veral acts  of  the  Virginia  assembly  of  1659,  1662,  and  1693- 
had  made  it  penal  in  parents  to  refuse  to  have  their  children 
baptized;  had  prohibited  the  unlawful  assembling  of  Quakers  ; 
bad  made  it  penal  for  any  master  of  a  vessel  to  bring  a  Quaker 
into  the  state  ;  had  ordered  those  already  here,  and  such  as 
should   come   thereafter,   to   be   imprisoned    till  they   showld 
abjure  the  country  ;  provided  a  milder  punishment  for  their 
first  and  second  return,  but  death  for  the  third  ;  had  inhi- 
bited all  persons  from  suffering  their  meetings  in  or  near  their 
houses,  entertaining  them  individually,  or  disposing  of  books 
which  supported  their  tenets."     Notes  on  Virginia,  Bait.  edit, 
pages  158, 159.     Now  I  think  no  one  can  mistake  the  meaning 
of  all  this — "  If  we  suffer  these  people,  they  will  t^ke  away 
our  placeJ* 

From  this  general  view  of  the  practical  tendency  of  school 
divinity  when  introduced  into  the  Christian  church  ;  and  its 
direful  effects  on  both  religious  and  civil  society,  in  every  case, 
and  in  all  ages  of  the  world,  especially  when  accompanied  with 


102 

power ;  I  will  turn  to  inquire  more  particularly,  whether  the 
system  which  you  arc  now  pursuing  with  so  ardent  a  zeal,  has 
any  superior  claim  to  our  regard. — 1  proceed  to  prove  the 
following  positions : 

1.  Your  call  is  ovtward  and  human. — This  appears  from  the  very 
nature  of  it.  "  Why,"  says  Lyman  Beecher  in  the  Address 
before  mentioned,  '»  why  is  not  every  eye  looking  out  for  some 
poor  young  man  of  talt  nts  and  piety  to  set  his  face  towards  the 
ministry  with  all  eagerness  r"  The  agent  for  the  «  American 
Education  Society,"  writes  thus  to  a  friend  in  Charleston  : — 
<«  The  good  people  in  Maine  have  written  to  me  for  seventeen 
hentjiciarits,  and  engaged  to  educate  them  in  their  academies 
and  colleges" — "  Almost  any  person  can  educate  a  minisU  r. 
I  am  doing  it :  you  must  do  it." — See  <<  The  Southern  Evangeli- 
cal Intelligencer." 

In  the  Boston  Recorder  of  May  IS,  are  found  the  following 
extracts  of  letters  to  the  aforesaid  agent, 

tfjs/'e'io  Haven,  Con,  Oct,  11,  1821. 

**  Dear  Sir — Besides  the  young  men  I  mentioned  to  you,  there 
are  others  of  equal  promise,  who  would  he  willing  and  glad  to 
study.  If  you  will  let  me  know  immediately  how  many  besides 
B and  H  can  be  received,  though  the  number  bo  fif- 

teen or  twenty,  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  can  easily  Jind  them,''' 

"  JVew  Haven f  Con,  Dec,  24, 1821. 

«<  Bear  »9ir— -There  are  four  or  five  apprentices  among  us, 
who  would  h^  willing  io  commence  their  studies,  could  sufficient 
encouragement  be  given.  They  feel  a  desire  to  be  ministers : 
but  are  reluctant  to  relinquish  their  present  employments,  with- 
out a  higher  measure  of  encouragement  than  I  have  ventured 
to  give  them." 

"  Farrington,  Con.  Oct.  26,  1821. 

<«  Bear  Sir — There  is  with  us  a  young  man  whom  I  could 
confidently  recommend,  could  he  be  released  from  his  present 
obligations.  He  will  be  twenty -one  years  old  next  spring,  and 
till  then  is  indented  to  a  farmer.  He  had  never  thought  of  quali- 
fying himself  for  the  sacred  office,  till  I  mentioned  the  subject 
to  him.  He  has  a  sound  mind  in  a  sound  body — of  good  appear- 
ance, winning  manners,  Sfc." 

Thus  the  call  is  from  man — "Almost  any  one  can  make  a 
minister,"  says  the  American  agent,  « I  am  doing  it.  You  must 


103 

do  it." — and  those  who  never  even,  thought  of  the  ministry^  arc- 
taken  from  their  useful  employments,  and  pressed  into  the 
service. 

The  doctrine  of  the  necessity  of  an  inward  and  spiritual  call, 
to  the  ministry,  is  so  clearly  set  forth  in  the  New  Testament, 
that  no  Christian  sect  that  I  ever  lieard  of,  has  gone  so  far  as 
to  reject  it,  in  theory,  at  least.  The  above  proves  that,  in  your 
practice,  an  inward  and  divine  call  is  substantially  rejected — 
«  Any  one  may  educate  a  minister."  Moreover,  your  call 
precedes  the  preparation  ;  but  in  the  divine  appointment,  the 
preparation  precedes  the  call. 

2.  Four  preparation  is  outward  and  human.  We  learn  the 
nature  of  the  studies  pursued  in  your  theological  seminaries, 
by  the  titles  of  the  dissertations,  delivered  by  the  students  of 
of  Jindover^  at  their  annual  examination,  and  published  in  the 
Essex  Register  of  the  29th  September,  1821,  in  Salem,  Mas- 
sachusetts.    The  following  are  some  of  them. 

1.  <'  How  far  should  philosophy  be  admitted  to  direct  the  in- 
terpretation of  Scripture  V* 

2.  «  Connexion  between  intellectual  philosophy  and  Christian 
eloquence  ?" 

3.  *<  Comparison  of  sacred  and  secular  eloquence." 

4.  '<  The  eloquence  of  Curran." 

5.  *<  On  tlie  application  of  iwd?^cfiv6  p/iiio5op/it/ to  the  Scrip- 
ture doctrine  of  man's  renovation  by  the  power  of  God."  &c.  &c. 

In  your  church  government  it  is  recommended  that  no  can- 
didate, except  in  extraordinary  cases,  be  licensed,  unless  after 
his  having  completed  the  usual  course  of  academical  studies, 
he  shall  have  studied  divinity,  at  least  two  years,  under  some 
approved  divine  or  professor  of  theology  ;  and  also,  that  before 
a  candidate  is  licensed  to  preach,  the  presbytery  shall  require 
of  him — 1.  A  Latin  Exegesis  on  some  common  head  in  divi- 
nity. 2.  A  critical  exercise.  3.  A  lecture.  4.  A  popular 
serm(ni.  Vid.  Constitution  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  pp. 
405,  406. 

The  foregoing  extracts  prove  that  your  system  does  not  dif- 
fer, essentially,  from  that  of  which  I  have  before  written,  and  of 
the  fruits  and  effects  of  which  I  have  presented  a  brief  outline, 
according  to  the  experience  of  all  ages.  It  is  the  same  sys- 
tem, in  substance,  against  which  the  Holy  Apostle  warned  tlic 
Colossians — *<  Beware,  says  he,  least  any  man  spoil  you  through 
philosophy  and  vain  deceit  ;"  and  concerning  which,  the  same 
Apostle  cautioned  his  beloved  son  Timothy,  who  was  entering 
into  the  ministry — «  Neglect  not  the  gift  that  is  in  thee,  which 
was  given  thee  by  prophecy ^^  (not  by  a  seminary) — and  "  avoid 
profane  and  vain  babblings,  and  oppositions  of  science."  «  For 


104 

the  time  will  come,  (and  is  it  not  now  come  ?)  when  they  will 
not  endure  sound  doctrine,  but  after  their  own  lusts  shall  they 
heap  up  to  themselves  teachers,  having  itching  ears," 

S.  Your  ordination  is  outward  and  human,  and  an  empty ,  for- 
mal imitation  of  a  miracle  performed^  in  certain  cases,  by  the 
Apostles. 

Amon,^  the  exercises  required  of  the  candidate  as  above 
stated,  tiiat  of  preaching  a  popular  sermon  is  one  ;  and  one,  no 
doubt  of  much  importance ;  for  without  this  qualification  he 
might  not  have  a  call.  But  if  the  congregation  aniong  whom 
he  has  exercised  his  gift,  are  satisfied  with  it,  then  a  call  is 
made,  (not  by  the  Holy  Spirit)  but  by  the  congregation  ;  and 
the  presbytery,  if  they  find  the  candidate's  knowledge  of 
«  Philosophy,  Ecclesiastical  History,  Theology,  and  the  Greek 
and  Hebrew  languages,"  sufficient  for  a  minister,  proceed  to 
the  laying  on  of  hands,  first  obtaining  a  pledge  from  the  can- 
didate that  he  will  maintain  and  preach  the  doctrines  contained  in 
the  Confession  of  Faith,  and  no  other. 

There  is  no  part  of  your  scheme  which  discloses  more  fully 
the  cloven  foot  of  priestcraft,  than  the  views  held  up  by  your 
clergy  on  the  subject  of  ordination.  In  the  ♦«  Presbyterian 
Magazine,"  published  in  Philadelphia,  and  conducted  by  no 
less  than  twelve  of  the  reverend  D.  D.'s  of  that  city,  I  find  an 
essay  in  the  second  number,  on  "  Lay  Preaching,"  written  by 
W.  M.  Engles,  one  of  the  conductors,  from  which  I  extract  the 
following  : 

<*  The  authority  to  .exercise  the  functions  of  this  office  (of  a 
minister)  can  only  be  communicated  by  those  who  already  pos- 
sess that  authority.  The  Apostles  who  received  an  extraordi- 
nary call  to  the  ministry,  did,  by  a  particular  ceremony,  com- 
municate ministerial  authority  to  those  who  were  to  take  part 
with  them  in  the  work  ;  and  it  is  by  an  imitation  of  their  ex- 
ample, that  a  regular  succession  of  gospel  ministers  has  been 
preserved  in  the  church.  None  but  the  lawless  and  disorderly 
will  deny  that  a  succession  in  the  ministry  is  to  be  preserved  in 
this  way  :  that  ministers  of  the  gospel  alone,  have  the  autho- 
rity to  admit  others  to  be  co-workers  with  them,  to  the  whole 
extent  of  ministerial  duty." 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  unfold  the  false  character  of  the  pre- 
tensions set  forth  in  this  extract  : 

1.  The  word  ordain,  furnishes,  of  itself,  no  evidence  of  the  use 
of  a"  particular  ceremony." 

The  verb  ordain,  is.  in  various  places  in  the  New  Testament, 
put  for  constitute  j  appoint  j  make  ;  elect.    Thus,  we  are  told 


102^ 

in  Mark  iii.  14,  that  "  Jesus  ordained  twelve  to  be  with  him.'* 
Here  the  verb  in  the  original  is  TloieUf  facio^  i.  e.  to  consti- 
tute ;  make  ;  or  appoint,  and  has  no  more  reference  to  **  a 
particular  ceremony,"  than  the  word  ordained,  in  Acts  xvii, 
31 — «'  that  man  whom  he  hath  ordained  ,•"  or  the  same  word  in 
xiii.  48  and  x.  42  ,•  "  ordained  to  eternal  life  ;"  "  ordained  of  God." 
Neither  does  the  original  word  in  Acts  xiv.  23,  and  translated 
ordainedf  justify  the  inference,  that  a  laying  on  of  hands,  was 
resorted  to.  Tlie  verb  used  in  this  place  is  Xet^oroni*,  i.  e. 
to  appoint  by  sutFrage,  (per  sufFragia  creo)  to  choose  or  elect : 
and  this  construction  receives  additional  strength  from  the  cir- 
cumstance, that  when  the  laying  on  of  hands  is  p;»rticularly 
mentioned,  a  different  verb  is  used,  to  wit,  E^inen/At,  (impon  > :) 
as  in  Acts  xiii.  3  and  1  Tim.  iv.  14. 

2.  The  assertion  that  **  the.  Apostles  who  received  an  extra- 
ordinary call  to  the  ministry,  did,  by  a  particular  ceremony, 
communicate  authority  to  those  who  were  to  take  part  with 
them  in  the  work,'*  is  unfounded, 

«  And  they  appointed  two,  Justus  and  Matthias,"  Acts  i. 
33.  In  this  appointment  all  the  disciples,  it  appears,  were 
concerned,  and  not  being  able  to  agree  in  the  choice,  two  were 
were  elected  :  and  to  decide  on  one  of  these,  an  appeal  was 
made  to  God,  by  the  casting  of  lots  ;  <'  and  the  lot  fell  upon  Mat- 
thias ;  and  he  was  numbered  with  the  Apostles."  Here  was 
no  laying  on  of  hands.  The  whole  matter  was  determined  **  by 
God  and  the  people." 

Neither  did  Paul  obtain  his  *'  ministerial  authority"  by  a 
human  ordination.  "  But  when  it  pleased  God,"  says  he, 
*<  who  separated  me  from  my  mother's  womb,  and  called  me  by 
his  grace,  to  reveal  his  Son  in  me,  that  T  might  preach  him 
among  the  heathen  ;  immediately  I  conferred  not  with  flesh  and 
blood  :  neither  went  1  up  to  Jerusalem  to  them  which  were  Apos- 
tles before  mr  :  but  I  went  into  Arabia,  and  returned  again  unto 
Damascus.  Then  after  three  years  I  went  up  to  Jerusalem,** 
&c. — Gal.  i.  15  to  18.  Thus  Paul,  without  even  seeing  any 
of  the  Apostles,  exercised  that  function  for  three  years,  taking 
«  part  with  them  in  the  work."  Now,  this  conduct  of  Paul 
was,  agreeably  to  the  views  of  your  clergy,  «  lawless  and  dis- 
orderly." 

*'  And  at  that  time  there  was  a  great  persecution  against  the 
church  wliich  was  at  Jerusalem,  and  they  were  all  scattered 
abroad  throughout  the  regions  of  Judea  and  Samaria,  except 
the  »Spostles.^*  ««  Therefore  they  that  were  scattered  abroad, 
went  every  where  preaching  the  word."     Acts  \iii.  1»  4. 

Here  we  find  all  the  disciples,    who  were  scattered  abroad 

0 


106 

by  the  persecution,  assuming  «  ministerial  authority"  without 
human  ordination  ;  the  Apostles  remaining  at  Jerusalem.    The 
Holy  Ghost  had  sealed  their  commission,  as  he  had  that  of  Paul, 
and  they  <»  consulted  not  with  flesh  and  blood  ;"  and  this  commis-' 
sion  extended  then,  and  still  continues  to  extend  to  every  Chris- 
tian, qualified  by  the  grace  of  God  to  execute  it.   This  is  plainly 
taught  by  the  apostle  James,  who  in  his  general  epistle  to  the 
twelve  tribes,  scattered  abroad,  tells  them — «  Brethren,  if  any 
of  you  do  err  from  the  truth,  and  any  one  convert  him  ;  let  him 
know  that  he  which  converteth  the  sinner  from  the  error  of  his 
ways,  shall  save  a  soul  from  death,  and  shall  hide  a  multitude  of 
sins."  James  v.  19  and  20.  Likewise  the  Apostle  Paul :  "  Andh« 
that  prophesieth,  speaketh  unto  men  to  edification,  and  exorta- 
tion,  and  comfort."     "  Md  ye  may  all  prophesy ,   (having  gifts) 
one  by  one,  that  all  may  learn,  and  all  may  be  comforted.*^  1  Cor. 
xiv.  3  and  31.     Again,  the  same  Apostle  says,  in    1  Thess. 
xi.  4,  *•  As  we  were  allowed  of  God  [and  not  by  human  ordi- 
nation] to  be  put  in  trust  with  the  gospel,  even  so  we  speak  ; 
not  as  pleasing  men,  but  God,  who  trieth  our  hearts." — «*  And 
if  any  man  minister,''  says  Peter,  *<  let  him  do  it  as  of  the 
ability  which  God  giveth."  1  Peter  iv.  11.    Now,  compare  this 
mild,  gentle  rule  and  government  of  these  pious,  devoted  men, 
with   that   advocated  by   W.  M.  Engles,  and  his  brethren ; 
who,  like  Theudas  of  old,  «  boasting  himself  to  be  somebody," 
thunders  forth  anathemas  against  every  one  who  shall  presume 
to  preach,  that  has  not  graduated  in  a  college,  pronouncing 
them  **  fanatics  and  disturbers  of  the  church  of  Christ  I .'" 

Now,  had  these  high-minded  ones  profited  by  the  instructioa 
afforded  in  the  following  examples  of  « that  humble  man  Mo- 
ses," afld  our  blessed  Saviour,  they  would  not  exhibit  such  un- 
becoming arrogance. 

«  And  there  ran  a  man  and  told  Moses,  and  said,  Eldad  and 
Metlad  do  prophesy  in  the  camp.  And  Joshua  said,  my  lord 
Moses,  forbid  them  :  and  Moses  said  unto  him,  enviest  thou  for 
my  sake  ?  wmid  God  that  all  the  Lord's  people  were  prophets  J* 
Numb.  xi.  27,  29. 

**  And  John  answered  and  said,  master,  we  saw  one  casting 
out  devils  in  thy  name,  and  we  forbad  him,  because  he  followeth 
not  with  us:  and  Jesus  said  unto  him,  forbid  him  not;  for  he 
that  is  not  against  us  is  for  us.*'    Luke  ix.  49,  50. 

The  following  texts  are  quoted,  among  others,  in  favour  of 
human  ordination  : 

"  And  when  they  had  fasted  and  prayed,  and  laid  their  hands 
on  them,  they  sent  them  away."  Acts  xiii.  3.  Now,  mark 
here,  that  it  is  declared  in  verse  2d,  that  «  the  Holy  Ghost 


107 

said,  separate  me  Barnabas  and  Saul ;"  and  in  the  4th  verse* 
"80  they  being  seni /or  i^  by  the  Holy  Ghost  departed;'*  and 
thus  it  was  the  Holy  Ghost,  *  and  not  the  laying  un  of  hands,* 
that  imparted  **  ministerial  authority'*  to  these  Apostles,  to 
perform  a  particular  service.  Moreover*  they  had  exercised 
this  authority  before,  as  appears  by  the  last  verse  of  the  pre- 
ceding chapter  :  Paul  had  been  in  the  station  for  fifteen  years ; 
vid.  Gal.  ii.  1  and  9.  It  is  absurd,  therefore,  to  suppose  that 
this  ceremony  was  used  to  confer  a  power,  which  they  had  be- 
fore possessed  in  an  eminent  degree. 

«  Neglect  not  the  gift  that  is  in  thee,"  says  Paul  to  Timothy, 
«  which  was  given  thee  by  prophecy f  with  the  laying  on  of  the 
hands  of  the  Presbytery.'*  1  Tim.  iv.  14-.  The  ceremony  in 
this  case,  had  no  more  to  do  with  communicating  ministerial 
authority,  than  in  the  preceding ;  the  gift  was  conferred,  as 
the  Apostle  expressly  declares,  by  the  spirit  of  prophecy ;  and 
as  he  reminds  Timothy  in  2  Tim.  i.  6.  that  "  the  gift  of  God" 
which  was  in  hinit  was  by  the  putting  on  of  his  hands,  he  both 
shows  that  the  laying  on  the  hands  of  the  presbytery  had  no 
agency  herein,  and  that  he  arrogates  nothing  to  himself,  de- 
claring the  gift  to  have  been  conferred  by  the  spirit  of  pro- 
phecy, thus  considering  himself  the  mere  passive  instrument 
through  which  this  gift  was  conveyed.  From  all  which  it  is 
evident  that, 

3.  The  Apostles  never  arrogated  to  themselves  the  power  of 
conferring  «'  ministerial  authority  "  nor  is  there  any  evidence 
'whatever  of  their  appointing  their  successors,  or  co-adjutors,  by 
virtue  merely  of  their  Jlpostleship. 

The  Apostles,  on  various  occasions,  conferred  ihc  Holy 
Ghost  by  the  imposition  of  hands,  but  this  was  a  power  extra- 
ordinary and  accidental,  as  it  regarded  their  office  as  ministers. 
There  is  but  one  source  from  which  ministerial  power  and  au- 
thority, ever  was,  is,  or  can  be  derived,  and  tliat  is  the  Holy 
Spirit.  This  position  is  so  clearly  set  forth  in  aJI  the  New 
Testament,  as  to  render  it  unnecessary  to  make  quotations  to 
prove  it.  But  although  it  were  to  be  admitted,  that  the  Apos- 
tles exercised  the  power  of  conferring  ministerial  authority, 
yet  this  would  avail  the  clergy  nothing,  unless  they  could  prove 
that  they  occupy  the  high  ground — have  received  the  "  extra- 
ordinary call**  and  the  gifts  which  these  holy  men  received. — 
But  this,  I  believe,  they  do  not  pretend  to. — Who  ever  heard  of 
their  conferring  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  of  healing  the  sick  ?  or  cleans- 
ing the  leper  ?  But  the  power,  we  are  told,  has  been  trans- 
mitted through  a  regular  succession  of  gospel  ministers  from 
the  Apostolic  age  to  the  present  time  !    «  Who  would  not  shwl- 


108 

der,"  to  adopt  the  language  of  the  writer  in  the  Presbyterian 
Magazine — "  who  would  not  shudder  at  the  thought  of  minis- 
terial authority  being  limited  to,  and  transmitted  by,  a  classi- 
cally and  theologically  educated  ministry,  such  as  history 
proves  it  to  have  been  ? — a  ministry  who  have  turned  Chris- 
tendom into  an  aceldama,  and  the  blood  of  whose  victims, 
crieth  up  from  the  face  of  the  whole  earth — a  ministry,  to  use 
the  words  of  the  historian,  «»  distinguished  (for  more  than  one 
thousand  years)  by  their  gluttony,  luxury,  and  lust ! !" 

It  is  thus  that  the  ch-rgy,  conscious  that  an  attempt  to  sup- 
port their  pretensions  on  the  ground  of  an  *'  extraordinary 
call"  would  be  vain  and  hopeless ;  endeavour  to  establish  the 
sanctity  of  their  laws,  and  their  claim  to  exclusive  privilege, 
througli  and  by  the  succession;  a  desperate  alternative,  to 
maintain  a  desperate  cause.  <»  The  succession,"  says  a  certain 
writer,  ♦»  cannot  be  proved.  Its  advocates  are  obliged  to  trace 
it  through  children,  heretics,  schismatics,  infidels,  idolators, 
simonists,  drunkards,  adulterers,  sodomites,  and  murderers  : 
but  after  raking  tlirough  all  this  filth,  they  cannot  make  it  out. 
The  pretence  then  of  being  in  the  succession,  is  a  mere  arbi- 
trary assumption  :  there  is  not  a  minister  in  Christendom,  who 
«an  demonstrate,  upon  this  principle,  the  legality  of  his  orders." 

In  vain,  therefore,  are  the  efforts  to  attach  a  mysterious 
power  and  sanctity  to  this  rite,  as  exercised  by  theologians  ; 
in  vain  is  it  clothed  with  all  the  "  pomp  and  circumstance,"  and 
solemnity  of  an  outward  religion  ;  common  sense  withdraws 
the  flimsy  veil,  and  discerns  nothing  but  a  formal,  mechanical 
operation,  bereft  of  powder,  or  virtue  ;  the  mere  skeleton,  the 
caput  mortuum  of  an  apostolic,  spiritual  investiture. 

The  reverend  writer  in  the  Magazine  before  quoted,  re- 
marks : — <*  that  lay  preaching  has  a  tendency  to  produce  the 
most  erroneous  notions — tliat  Christians  in  private  life  should 
do  no  more  than  preach  by  their  example,  [a  very  good  sort  of 
preaching,  and  which  few  of  the  clergy  have  practised"] — that  a 
blessing  can  reasonably  be  expected  only  upon  a  proper  appli- 
cation of  human  exertions — and  that  a  man  who  urges  his  spi- 
ritual call  to  preach,  when  destitute  of  necessaiy  human  learn- 
ing (not  college  bred)  is  a  fanatic,  and  is  to  be  avoided  as  a 
disturber  of  the  church  of  Christ."  Now,  when  we  contemplate 
the  perpetual  quarrels,  disturbances,  persecutions,  and  blood- 
shed produced  in  <'  the  church  of  Christ"  by  nlearned  ministry, 
in  all  ages,  and  especially  the  «  ^Mma7i  exertions"  displayed  by 
the  Calvinistic  brethren  of  this  writer  in  Geneva,  Holland, 
England,  Scotland,  and  Boston ;  instead  of  declaiming  contu- 
meliously  against  lay-preaching,  and  contending  for  exclusive 


109 

privilege,  I  think  they  have  great  cause  to  adopt  the  language^ 
"  to  us  belongeth  blushing  and  confusion  of  face."  There 
breathes  through  this  whole  essay  of  W.  M.  Engles,  such  a  spi- 
rit of  intolerance,  narrow-minded  bigotry,  and  presumption,  as 
Jairlij  entitles  the  writer,  and  all  who  think  with  him,  to  the 
severe  reproof  given  by  the  Saviour  to  some  in  his  time,  whose 
characters  were  fashioned  in  the  same  mould — "  Wo  unto  you 
Scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites  !  for  ye  shut  up  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  against  men  ;  for  ye  neither  go  in  yourselves,  neither 
suffer  ye  them  that  are  entering  to  go  in."     Mat.  xxiii.  13. 

On  the  whole  the  pretensions  of  the  modern  clergy,  are  no 
less  at  variance  with  the  doctrines  and  examples  found  in  the 
New  Testament,  than  with  the  nature  of  the  gospel  itself.  In 
the  primitive  church,  there  was  no  privileged  order  of  men  :  no 
clergy ;  no  laity.  These  distinctions  were  the  after-work 
of  priest  craft.  No  peculiar  privileges  were  claimed  or 
usurped  by  the  Apostles  nor  their  co-adjutors  ;  nor  any  other 
influence  exerted  than  what  was  obtained  through  the  medium 
of  a  voluntary  iiomage  paid  to  holiness  and  purity.  Here  we 
find  no  written  creeds  nor  systems  of  theology  ;  for  the  articles 
of  a  Christian's  faith  are  few  and  practical,  and  engraven. on 
his  heart.  Here  we  read  of  no  Reverends,  nor  Right  Reverends; 
for  the  disciples  practised  their  Lord's  lesson,  not  to  seek  honour 
one  of  another,  but  to  seek  the  honour  which  cometh from  God  only;— 
no  councils,  or  synods  ;*  for  they  courted  not  power,  but  obeyed 
their  master's  command  :  he  that  would  be  great  among  you,  let 
him  be  your  servant;  no  begging  in  the  name  of  religion  ;  no 
cry  of  **  give,  give,"  for  they  took  care  of  their  flocks,  not  for 
filthy  lucre,  but  of  a  ready  mind;  going  forth  preaching,  and 
*'  taking  nothing  of  the  Gentiles;"  remembering  their  Lord's 
saying  :  ♦«  that  it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.** 

Wlierc,  then,  are  we  to  look  for  this  doctrine  of  exclusive 
privilege  ?  In  the  church  of  Rome.  Here  the  system  had,  if  not 
its  origin,  its  growth,  and  here  it  was  matured.  A  layman 
must  not  read  his  Bible,  nor  preach,  nor  exhort,  even  in  his 
own  family.  In  every  case  tf)uehing  religion  or  conscience, 
the  ])riest  must  be  consulted.  The  priest  was  the  layman's 
casuist,  his  confessor,  his  director,  and  without  him  he  must  do 
nothing.  The  refoi-mation  has  mutilated,  but  not  destroyed  this 
fabric  ;  its  foundation  has  never  yet  been  broken  up — some  of  its 

♦*'  These  councils,  of  which  -we  Jlndnot  the  smallest  trace,  before  the  middle 
of  this  (2d.)  ceutuiy,  changed  thelwhole  face  of  the  church,  and  gave  it  a  new 
form  :  for  by  them  the  ancient  privileges  of  the  people  were  considerably 
diminished^  and  the  pover  and  authority  of  the  bishops  greatly  augmented. 
Mosheim,  vol.  i.  p.  178- 


110 

pillars  are  yet  standing  j  the  most  conspicuous  of  which  is  thkt 
near  the  pulpit  with  okuination  inscribed  upon  it.  A  phalanx  of 
the  Levitieal  tribe  surrounds  it.  Does  a  poor  layman  approach  ? 
They  brandish  their  carnal  weapons ;  he  is  abo^it  to  touch  their 
bone  and  their  Jlesh  ;  and  they  (as  it  were)  curse  him  to  his  face  !  I 
Leaving  the  subject  of  ordination,  I  proceed  to  examine  other 
parts  of  your  system.  From  statements  now  before  me,  the 
buildings,  furniture,  &c.  at  the  famous  Andover  Seminary,  arc 
in  a  style  wholly  at  variance  with  the  plainness  and  simplicity 
of  the  gospel.  Amongst  other  extravagancies,  1  note  the  fol- 
lowing ; 

1.  A  house  for  professor  Griffin,  hidlt  in  the  most  elegant  and 
expensive  style — cost,  over  twenty-four  thousand  dollars. 

2.  A  house  for  professor  Stuart — cost,  over  ten  thousand 
dollars. 

3.  A  chapel,  finished  Vfith  mahogany  ;  the  floor  covered  with 
an  elegant  carpet  which  cost  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  ; 
and  ornamented  with  an  entry  lamp  of  the  most  extravagant 
fashion.     Cost  of  the  building  forty  thousand  dollars. 

4.  The  sums  of  money  given  to  this  Seminary  by  a  few  indi- 
viduals only,  by  bequest,  donations,  &c.  amounted  in  1821,  to 
near  four  hundred  thousand  dollars ! ! 

5.  The  professors  complain  that  fifteen  hundred  dollars  a  year 
is  insufficient  to  maintain  them,  although  they  have  their  houses 
furnished  free  of  expense.  Now  it  is  with  this  display  of 
worldly  pomp,  and  grandeur,  and  fashion,  before  them;  and 
under  the  tuition  of  such  professors,  that  the  «  pious  young 
men"  educated  for  the  ministry^  are  to  imbibe  the  self-denying 
precepts  of  the  gospel  !  !  But  it  is  not  at  Andover  only,  that 
this  extravagance  is  exhibited  ;  it  is  diffused  throughout  the 
whole  system, — it  is  even  carried  to  the  heathen  world.  *<  Dr. 
Carey's  house,"  says  Harriet  Newell,  (at  Serampore,)  *«  ap- 
peared like  a  palace  to  us  ;  he  keeps  a  large  number  of  Hindoo 
servants — he  is  now  advanced  to  a  state  of  honour,  with  six 
thousand  dollars  a  year — the  garden  is  large  and  much  more 
elegant  than  any  I  ever  saw  in  America." 

In  order  to  support  such  a  system  as  this,  immense  sums  of 
money  are  requisite ;  and  no  pains  are  spared  to  obtain  it. 
Your  clergy,  with  their  caterers  and  agents,  by  exhortations, 
by  entreaties,  and  even  by  threats  and  denunciations,  have 
opened  an  immense  number  of  small  streams,  which  flowing 
together,  grow  into  large  rivers,  and  find  their  way  to  Andovei\ 
Princeton,  or  Serampore.  It  is  thus  that  innumerable  societies 
are  formed  of  various  kinds  of  grades,  as  **  Female  Societies, 
Cent  Societies,  Mite  Societies,  Children  Societies,  and  even 


Ill 

Negro  Societies,  both  bond  and  free.  One  leaves  off  the  use 
of  butter  ;  another  wears  coarse  shoes ;  another  undressed  cloth ; 
and  thus,  even  the  necessaries  of  life  are  parted  with  by  the 
poor  and  needy,  in  order  tliat  priests  and  professors  may  dwell 
in  houses  built  in  the  most  extravagant  style,  and  live  in  a 
corresponding  manner  ! !  "  Wo  unto  you  Scribes  and  Pharisees, 
hypocrites  !  for  ye  are  as  graves  which  appear  not,  and  the 
men  that  walk  over  them,  are  not  aware  of  them — ye  destroy 
widow's  houses — grind  the  face  of  the  poor ;  and  load  men  with 
burthens  grievous  to  be  borne,  and  ye  yourselves  touch  not 
the  burdens  with  one  of  your  fingers." 

At  the  Princeton  Seminary,  the  same  system  of  expenditure 
is,  in  degree,  manifested,  as  at  Andover.  The  funds  of  the 
former,  however,  are  not  so  large  as  those  of  the  latter.  The 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  the  United  States,  on 
behalf  of  this  institution,  say  : 

«  Have  you  (addressing  the  ministers)  reminded  your  flocks 
of  what  themselves  owe  to  that  gospel  ?  Have  you  pressed  upon 
them  the  command  of  our  Master,  to  <<  commit  his  truth  to 
faithful  men,  who  shall  be  able  to  teach  it  ?  A  command  wc 
cannot  fulfil  unless  theyprit  the  means  [money]  within  our  power. 
Have  you  set  before  their  eyes,  the  hour  of  death,  and  the 
solemnity  of  judgment,  and  asked  them  how  they  can  answer  it 
to  Jesus  Christ  to  let  his  truth  perish  before  their  eyes  ?  If  you 
have  not  done  this,  you  have  not  yet  fulfilled  your  duty  to  God 
and  the  church  ;  and  if  you  will  do  it,  the  Assembly  can  never 
be  brought  to  believe  that  you  will  plead  in  vain.  They  will 
not,  they  can  not  believe,  that  while  the  hands  that  were  pierced 
are  stretched  out  with  a  request  for  such  an  offering,  a  Christi«tn 
oan  be  found  in  all  our  bounds  who  will  refuse  his  Lord  ?" 

Here  we  have  the  Saviour  again  betrayed  ;  and  transformed, 
ridiculously  enough,  into  a  modern  missionary,  begging  money 
to  buy  a  little  Latin  and  Greek  for  his  ministers!  We  should 
not  be  much  surprised  to  see  this  happy  thought  transferred  upon 
canvass,  and  handed  about  to  obtain  money  from  the  people. 
Should  your  Synod  resolve  upon  this  measure,  I  would  invite 
their  attention  to  the  following  contrasts  : 

1.  Lyman  Beeeher  holding  a  paper  in  his  hand,  on  one  side 
of  which  is  written :  <*  Church  and  state — put  not  asunder  what 
God  hath  Joined  :'*  and  on  the  other  side,  **  Homogeneous  in- 
fluence." 

2.  The  missionaries  dinVng  in  '*  Dr.  Carey's  palace  at  Sc- 
rampore,"  on  the  sumptuous  fare  described  by  one  of  their 
number,  (see  letter  2d.)  and  opposite  to  this,  our  Lord  and  his 
disciples  sitting  on  the  ground,  eating  bread  and  fish. 


lis 

3.  Professor  Griffin  in  his  elegant  house  at  jSwdover,  rcceiying 
the  coppers  from  a  Cent  Society  of  negro  slaves. 

4.  Our  Lord's  disciples  going  forth  to  preach  the  gospel ; 
the  foremost  holding  a  roll,  on  which  are  written  these  words  : 
"  Carry  neither  purse,  nor  scrip,  nor  shoes—take  nothing  for 
your  journey ;"  at  a  short  distance  is  seen  a  modern  missionary 
on  his  way  to  the  heathen,  reading  a  paper,  on  which  is  written : 
«  Outfit  two  thousand  six  hundred  dollars  ;  with  one  thousand 
dollars  per  annum— «  quite  two  little."* 

5.  **The  good  Dr.  Carey"  pocketing  his  annuity  of  six 
thousand  dollars,  whilst  Paul  is  passing  by,  on  his  return  from 
Antioch,  holding  in  his  hand,  his  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians, 
in  which  we  read  these  words— «  What  is  my  reward  then  ? 
Verily  that  when  I  preach  the  gospel,  I  may  make  the  gospel 
of  Christ  without  charge** — «'  taking  nothing  of  the  Gentiles." 

6.  William  Bartlett  presenting  a  heavy  purse  to  the  agent 
of  the  Education  Society,  and,  at  the  same  time  kneeling  to  re- 
ceive a  crown  from  Lyman  Beeoher^  inscribed  with  the  word 

IMMORTAIilTY. 

•  See  Christian  Repository,  vol.  i.  No.  42,  In  which  it  is  stated,  that  to  pre- 
pare, to  equip,  and  to  land  esich  nussionary,  costs  the  British  public  not  less 
than  600;.— 2666  «toUar». 


LETTER  Y. 


THE  SAME  SUBJECT  CONTINUED. 

THE  contrast  which  presents  between  the  ancient  and  pre- 
sent modes  and  exertions  to  spread  the  gospel,  cannot  but 
strike  every  reflecting  mind.  So  far  from  money  being  thought, 
in  the  primitive  times,  as  an  essential  in  the  diffusion  of  the 
gospel,  it  is,  in  the  New  Testament,  declared  to  be  *'  the  root  of 
all  evil;"  and  there  is  not  a  single  call  made  for  it,  from  the 
mouths  of  the  Apostles,  except  for  the  support  of  the  poor  in  the 
church  ;  and  to  those  who  had  the  means,  a  recommendation  to 
receive  into  their  houses,  and  entertain  such  as  travelled  in  the 
service  of  the  gospel.  But  now  "  tempora  mutantur  tt  vos  mu- 
tamini  in  illis  ;'*  and  money  is  the  only  lever  that  can  put  in 
motion  your  ponderous  theological  machinery.  Calls  are  nume- 
rous, and  loud,  and  strong ;  not  for  the  poor  of  your  churches, 
for  so  far  from  giving  to  them,  they  are  organized  into  Cent 
Societies^  and  their  last  pittance  is  thus  extorted  from  them  ; 
but,  to  supply  the  insatiable  cravings  of  your  clergy.  And 
these  calls  are  not  from  Synods  only,  but  from  all  quarters. 
Your  religious  newspapers  are  full  of  tliem. 

*«  What  must  be  done  ?''  says  Lyman  Beecher,  in  the  ad- 
dress before  quoted :  "  The  press  must  groan  in  the  communi- 
cation of  our  wretchedness  ;  and  from  every  pulpit  in  the  land, 
the  trumpet  must  sound,  long  and  loud.  The  nation  must  be 
awakened,  or  we  are  undone.  Men  of  wealth,  help !  we  en- 
treat you,  help  to  save  your  country  from  ruin" — "  and  mil- 
lions of  your  countrymen  from  hell !  Are  you  friends  to  civil 
liberty?  give!— do  it  quickly,  for  while  you  read,  they  die,  and 
go  to  the  judgment:  and  with  all  the  expedition  that  you  can 
make  about  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  must  die  in  this 
Christian  land,  destitute  of  the  means  of  grace,  before  you  can 
send  to  them  one  competent  religious  instructor — Give,  tliat  you 
may  provide  for  your  chihlrcn  at  home,  and  abroad,  an  inheri- 
tance uncorrupted,  and  undefiltd,  and  infading  in  heaven  /" 

A  writer  in  the  «  Guardian"  of  December,  1S20,  printed  at 
New  Haven,  says:  "To  one  inquiringwhathemustdo  to  inherit 

p 


114 

eternal  life,  the  Saviour  said,  sell  all  that  thou  hast  and  give 
to  the  poor  (not  to  the  clergj) — the  same  Saviour  demands  some 
of  our  property  (for  the  priesthood  !)  that  we  may  have  treasure 
in  heaven" — <*  shall  we  not  obey  him,  and  spare  a  little  of  what 
is  given  us,  for  the  salvation  of  souls?" 

A  certain  Jacob  Sherred  of  New  York,  having  bequeathed  a 
large  amount  to  a  theological  seminary,  the  editor  of  the  Chris- 
tian Repository,  in  No.  I,  makes  the  following  comment :  "Mr. 
Sherred  has  done  well;  has  obeyed  his  Lord's  command,  *  lay 
up  treasure  in  heaven'' — let  no  Christian  die  without  contributing 
largely  to  the  Lord's  treasury." 

In  a  discourse  delivered  by  Philip  Lindsay  before  the  Pres- 
bytery of  New  Brunswick,  at  their  meeting  in  Trenton,  Oct. 
6, 1S18,  is  found  the  following  :  "  Happy  the  man,  who,  whilst 
lie  is  prospered  in  business,  knows  how  to  bestow  to  the  best 
account  (i.  e.  to  the  priesthood)  the  fruits  of  prosperity.  Verily, 
he  shall  be  prospered  more  abundantly  in  this  life,  and  in  the 
life  to  come  he  shall  wear  a  brighter  crown,  than  all  the  wealth 
(^created  worlds  could  furnish.'  J" 

Thus  the  doctrine  is  plainly  set  forth,  that  the  salvation  both 
of  the  country  and  people,  depends  wholly  on  freely  bestowing 
our  money,  to  replenish  the  pockets  of  the  priests  and  professors. 
But  your  clergy  do  not  stop  here:  they  carry  this  matter  fur- 
ther than  even  Simon  Magus  himself;  for,  although  it  consti- 
tutes a  leading  article  of  your  faith,  that  works  have  nothing 
to  do  with  otir  salvation  ;  yet,  it  seems  the  work  of  giving  our 
money  freely  to  the  priesthood,  is  an  exception  to  the  rule,  and  on 
the  strength  of  such  donations  we  are  promised  *♦  treasure  in 
heaven,"  and  **  fl  brighter  crown  than  all  the  wealth  of  created 
worlds  could  furnish."  This  species  of  *'  holy  cunning"  to  extort 
money,  cannot  be  too  much  reprobated  by  every  Christian.  It 
carries  us  back  to  the  dark  ages,  when  a  legacy  to  the  church 
insured  a  passport  to  immortality  ;  whilst  he  that  withheld  was 
left  to  die  without  beneft  of  clergy,  and  delivered  over  to  the  prince 
of  darkness  !  ! 

*<  Why,"  says  a  writer  in  an  eastern  paper,  "  why  is  not 
every  farmer  hoeing  corn  for  the  Education  Society  ;  every  rich 
man  writing  a  large  check  on  the  bank;  every  good  house-wife 
whirling  her  wheel ;  to  make  money  or  clothes  for  those  poor 
young  men  ;  and  every  eye  looking  for  some  poor  young  man 
of  talents  and  piety,  to  set  his  face  towards  the  ministry  with 
all  eagerness  ?  Awake  !  awake  !  all  people ;  arise  early ;  sit 
up  late,  and  work  hard,  and  give  freely !" 

Numerous  pages  might  be  filled  with  similar  appeals  to  obtain 
money  j  but  the  above  furnish  abundant  evidence  to  show  how 


strongly  the  hopes  and  expectations  of  your  clergy  arc  drawn  to 
this  quarter.  This  subject  would  seem  to  form  the  Alpha  and 
Omega  of  their  prayers — the  primum  mobile  of  their  exertions. 
No  stone  is  left  unturned  ,  every  art  and  method  is  exhausted 
to  obtain  the  desired  object — even  anti-christ  himself  is  put  in 
requisition  ;  and  pride,  and  vanity,  and  a  love  of  worldly  ho- 
nour— passions  which  it  is  the  business  of  religion  to  subdue — 
are  excited,  and  aroused  to  aid  this  concern  ;  and  that  from  a 
quarter  too  where  it  ought  to  have  been  the  least  expected. 
Thus  it  is  "resolved  by  your  General  Assembltj,  that  any  person 
or  persons,  not  exceeding  three,  that  shall  give  or  bequeath 
twenty  five  thousand  dollars  for  the  endowment  of  a  pro- 
fessorship, such  professorship  shall  ever  bear  the  name  oj  the 
founder.  In  like  manner  any  one  giving  two  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars  for  the  endowment  of  a  scholarship,  the  same 
shall  ever  bear  the  name  of  the  donor.  Also,  any  one  giving 
twenty  dollars,  constitutes  him  a  member  of  the  Education 
Society  for  lifey  So  much  for  the  General  Assembly  ;  and  all 
that  is  wanting  to  complete  their  scheme  is,  a  star,  a  garter, 
and  a  ribbon. 

The  papers  of  the  day  arc  also  "  spangled  over"  with  the 
names  of  contributors,  with  flattering  notices  annexed,  in  order 
to  indiice  others  to  come  and  do  likewise;  and  thus  men,  allured 
by  worldly  honour — to  have  their  deeds  trumpeted  abroad, 
have  been  induced  to  put  into  the  «<  Lord's  treasury,''  to  the 
defrauding  of  their  creditors,  and  the  injury  of  their  destitutefami- 
lies.  And,  to  cap  the  climax,  the  Saviour  is  represented  by  the 
General  Jlsscmbly,  with  his  pierced  hands  stretched  forth  to  receive 
the  filthy  lucre  I  !  He,  who  thus  cautioned  his  disciples  :  «  I'ake 
heed  that  ye  do  not  your  alms  before  men,  to  he  seen  of  them; 
otherwise  ye  have  no  revi'ard  of  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven. 
Therefore,  when  thou  doest  thine  alms,  do  not  sound  a  trumpet 
before  thee,  as  the  hypocrites  do,  in  the  synagogues,  and  in  the 
streets,  that  they  may  have  glory  of  men.  Verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  they  have  their  reward,  liut  when  thou  doest  alms,  let 
not  thy  left  hand  know  what  thy  right  hand  docth." 

Wliat  can  the  ultimate  object  be  that  thus  stimulates  your 
clergy  to  such  unparalleled  exertions  ?  Ought  we  to  ascribe  it  to 
love  far  the  souls  of  men?  Did  I  suppose  that  no  personal  conside- 
rations ;  no  secular  aims,  nor  ambitious  views,  were  connected 
with  these  proceedings,  I  would  now  lay  down  the  pen,  under 
the  persuasion  that  public  opinion,  and  more  sober  reflection 
would,  in  process  of  time,  enlighten  and  reform  your  judgments. 
But  any  one  who  has  read  ecclesiastical  history,  and  thereby 
become  acquainted  with  the  movements  and  achievements  of 


IIG 

an  educated  hireling  ministry^  might  be  permitted,  without  be- 
ing accused  even  of  a  breach  of  charity^  to  indulge  a  Tear,  that 
building  upon  the  well-founded  maxim,  that  money  creates  in- 
Jluence,  and  injluence  power,  the  love  of  an  earthly  kingdom  had 
found  a  place  in  the  hearts  of  the  clergy,  and  mingled  with 
their  offerings.  I  will  now  proceed  to  prove  that  what  might 
very  reasonably  be  feared,  is  already  matter  of  history  !  As  full 
evidence  of  this  fact,  I  produce  the  following  letters,  written 
by  Ignatius  Thomson :  the  last  dated  Pomfret,  (Verm.)  Sept. 
27,  1813,  (the  author  was  once  connected  with  the  clergy,  and 
thus  became  apprised  of  their  views.) 

**  The  following  communication  has  rested  on  my  mind  for 
years.  Between  the  consciousness  of  the  effect  that  it  would 
have  on  me  personally,  by  reason  of  the  great  clerical  influence 
in  this  part  of  the  country,  with  whom  I  stood  connected,  and 
my  sense  of  duty  to  the  community,  I  have,  till  now,  refrained 
from  speaking  of  it,  except  to  some  of  my  friends— the  designs 
of  the  congregational  clergy,  have  become  so  alarming  to  the 
freedom  of  religious  inquiry,  and  the  liberties  of  our  country, 
(for  they  are  intimately  connected)  I  cannot  feel  excused  to  re- 
main in  silence."  The  writer  proceeds  to  state,  that  about  the 
year  1799,  hearing  much  of  Thomas  Jefferson's  infidelity,  he 
called  on  a  member  of  congress  for  information.  The  member 
told  him  that  he  considered  Thomas  Jefferson  a  man  of  correct 
morals ;  but  he  endeavoured  to  show  him  the  importance  of 
having  a  President  from  the  eastern  states,  who  would  consult 
their  (the  clergy's)  interests  and  defend  their  rights.  ♦<  He  then 
addressed  himself  to  me,"  says  the  writer,  "  in  sentiments  like 
these,  as  near  as  I  recollect :  *I  am  surprised  you  have  joined 
that  party ;  you  are  acting  against  your  own  interest.  It  is 
understood,  among  the  opposite  party,  if  they  should  succeed  so 
far  as  to  have  a  decided  majority  in  the  states,  the  clergy  are 
to  be  remembered.  We  have  conversed  on  the  subject,  but  have 
not,  as  yet,  determined  whether  it  would  be  best  to  have  them 
draw  their  salaries  from  the  piiblic  chest  at  the  head  of  govern- 
ment, or  have  provision  made  for  them  to  draw  from  a  deposit  in 
each  state.  This,  \iowe\er,  will  be  Jixed  in  season.  You  will 
then  be  able  to  support  some  dignity  of  character.  You  will  not 
be  troubled  with  the  whims  and  complaints  of  many  in  your 
parish.  This  is  generally  understood  among  the  clergy.^  I  replied, 
I  was  afraid  of  such  an  establishment :  that  the  persecuting 
scenes  of  past  ages  would  return.  He  observed  that  we  were 
too  enlightened. 

*<  Since  that  time  I  have  observed  the  conduct  of  the  clergy 
and  could  readily  understand  their  motives.    I  could  clear/y 


117 

understand  Dr.  E.  in  his  history  of  Jerusalem,  and  Dr.  M, 
in  his  elegy  over  the  French  priests.  The  prophetic  fate  of 
Bibles  and  meeting  houses,  depending  on  the  presidential  elec- 
tion, sprang  from  tiie  same  source.  TJjis  led  the  clergy  to  enter 
into  a  closer  connection.  Where  there  was  no  state  connections 
formed,  they  were  immediately  attended  to.  These  conventions 
meet  once  a  year  in  each  of  the  states  east  of  the  Delaware, 
and  each  convention  chooses  two  delegates  to  represent  them 
in  each  of  the  states.  They  have  formed  a  creeds  which  they 
Lave  mutually  pledged  themselves  to  support.  They  have  con- 
certed their  Magazines,  their  Missionary  labours,  their  Tract 
Societies,  &c.  to  establish  this  creed  in  the  minds  of  the  serious 
part  of  the  community.  They  have  established  a  Theohgical 
College  in  Massachusetts,  devoted  to  the  same  object.  They 
have  gone  so  far  in  this  state,  (Vermont,)  and,  as  far  as  I  know, 
it  is  the  same  in  other  states,  as  to  choose  a  standing  committee 
to  grant  license  or  liberty  to  clergymen,  who  come  intothis  state, 
to  preach  in  their  churches.  They  have  agreed  to  have  no  fel- 
lowship with  a  clergyman,  who  will  not  procure  sucK  a  lizense, 
and  have  warned  the  churches  against  hearing  any  one,  how- 
ever well  he  may  come  recommended,  unless  he  produces  such 
a  license.  They  have  exhorted  the  churches  to  exconm,unicate 
as  heretics  all  those  who  will  not  assent  to  their  creed:  and  there 
are,  in  a  large  proportion  of  the  towns  (or  townships)  among 
us,  those  who  are  excommunicated  on  this  principle. 

**  It  is  the  devotion  of  my  heart  that  this  design,  like  the 
hypocrite's  hope,  will  eventually  prove  nothing  more  than  u 
spider's  web.  Though  I  am  one  of  those  victims  whom  their 
policy  has  ^\\en  over  to  feel  the  cftect  of  their  anathemas,  I 
still  entertain  a  hope,  that  the  civil  policy  of  our  country  will 
never  compel  me  to  apply  to  a  creed-maker  to  manufacture  a 
set  of  articles  of  faith  between  me  and  my  Redeemer. 

*'  Ignatius  Tuomson." 

The  second  letter  of  I.  Thomson,  is  as  follows  : 

*'  Dear  -Sir,— I  feel  it  a  duty  to  communicate  to  the  public, 
througl)  the  medium  of  the  Herald,  a  subject  which  is  of  some 
interest  to  the  friends  of  civil  and  religious  freedom. 

**  In  the  spring  of  the  year  1807  or  1808,  I  attended  an  asso- 
ciation of  the  Congregational  clergy,  at  Thetford  in  this  state. 
After  the  members  had  generally  convened,  a  Mr.  Fuller,  mi- 
nister of  Vershire,  observed  to  Dr.  Burton,  <  Well,  you  did  not 
succf'ed  in  s;etting  Mr.  Fowjer  in  a  member  of  the  corporation 
of  F'.: ,  Kc-t'tn.'  [This  College  is  patronized  by  the  state,  and 
is  known  by  the  name  of  the  University  of  Vermont.]     <  No, 


118 

replied  the  Doctor.  *  Well,  what  must  be  done  next,'  said  Mr. 
Fullrr.  The  Doctor  affected  to  be  at  a  loss  for  an  answer.  Mr. 
Wmster,  another  member  of  the  corporation,  replied  with  some 
feeling,  *  We  must  withdraw  our  support  from  that  college,  and 
turtt  it  to  Middlebury,'  [another  college  in  the  stale,  under  the 
pationage  of  individuals.]  The  Doctor  then  began,  '  We  must 
turn  our  inlluence  to  Middlebury,  and  I  think  we  can  easily 
run  (down  the  University.  When  the  corporation  are  convinced 
thatlthey  cannot  support  the  reputation  of  the  college,  without 
tlie  ^alvinistic  hijiuencef  they  will  be  willing  to  give  up  Dr. 
Sanders,  [the  president]  then  we  can  manage  that  college  as 
we  please.  It  will  be  of  great  importance  to  have  it  under  the 
Calvlnistic  influence.  To  do  this^  we  must  cry  down  the  col- 
lege {\nd  Br.  Sanders.  We  must  make  the  people  believef  that  the 
reason  whj  the  college  does  not  fiourishy  is  because  Dr.  Sanders  is 
So  unpopular.  The  Calvinistic  sentiments  never  will  prevail,  till 
the  cftlleges  are  under  our  influence.  Young  men,  when  they  go 
to  college,  generally,  have  not  formed  their  religious  senti- 
ments. We  ought  to  have  a  president  and  instructors,  who 
have  the  address  to  instill  the  Calvinistic  sentiments  without 
the  students  being  sensible  of  it.  Then,  nine  out  of  ten,  when 
they  leare  the  college,  will  support  the  Calvinistic  doctrine.-— 
They  will  go  out  into  the  world,  and  will  have  ihe^\r  influence  in 
societij.  In  this  way  we  can  get  a  better  support  without  any 
law  than  we  have  ever  had  with.  And  besides,  when  all  our 
colleges  are  under  our  injluence,  it  will  establish  our  sentiments 
and  influence,  so  that  we  can  manage  the  civil  government  as  we 
please.' 

"  He  then  began  to  name  the  colleges,  and  found  them  all 
under  the  Calvinistic  influence,  this  side  the  Delaware,  (a  river 
peculiariy  distinguished  in  certain  men's  calculations)  *  except 
Brown  tfniversiiij,  Harvard  University^  and  the  University  of 
Vermont  Brown  University  may  be  considered  as  much  for 
us  as  aoainst  us.  We  have  a  Divinity  College  at  Andover, 
which  nas  a  great  influence  over  Harvard  College,  and  we 
think  it  Will  soon  bring  it  over  to  our  interCvSt;  and  we  must 
exert  oureelvcs  to  obtain  this.^  These  are  the  sentiments,  and 
as  nearly  the  words  as  [  can  recollect. 

"  In  the  year  1809,  I  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  general 
assembly  of  this  state.  I  then  felt  it  a  duty  to  prevent  the 
designs  of  the  clergy,  if  possible.  Accordingly,  I  brought  in  a 
bill  to  amend  the  act  of  establishing  the  University  of  Vermont 
at  Burlington.  The  principal  object  was  to  take  the  right  of 
filling  vacancies  in  the  corporation,  into  the  hands  of  the  legis- 
lature, by  a  joint  ballot  of  both  houses.    This,  I  considered, 


119 

would  always  make  the  colleges  popular,  notwitlistanding  cle- 
rical designs.  The  cry  of  an  unpopular  president  has  been 
continually  sounded  ;  and,  from  some  unexpected  movement,  a 
majority  of  the  corporation  have  so  far  been  charmed  with  the 
clerical  song  of  an  unpopular  president,  that  they  have  pro- 
posed to  meet  at  Montpelier  during  the  session  of  the  legisla- 
ture, and  take  into  consideration  the  expediency  of  removing 
Doctor  Sanders  from  the  presidency. 

«'  I  understand  the  malcontents  have  their  eye  fixed  on  a 
Dr.  Blanchford,  of  Lansingburgh,  New  York,  as  one  who  is  ca- 
pable of  instilling  Calvinistic  sentiments,  without  the  students 
being  sensible  of  it.  The  heart  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and 
desperately  wicked  j  who  can  know  it? 

"  Ignatius  Thomson. 
«  Pom/ret,  (  Ter.)  Sept.  27 y  1813." 

The  first  letter  of  I.  Thomson  proves  the  fact,  that  the  Pres- 
byterian clergy  in  New  England,  were  plotting  to  establish 
their  creed  throughout  the  u)iion  ;  to  have  all  other  sects  taxed 
to  support  their  aggrandizement,  and  thus  give  the  death-blow 
to  civil  and  religious  liberty  in  this  country.  Towards  the 
close  of  Adams'  administration,  their  plans  were  nearly  ma- 
tured. But  they  saw  that  if  Thomas  Jefferson  was  elected  to  the 
presidential  chair,  a  total  defeat  would  follow.  '*  From  every 
pulpit  in  the  land,"  therefore,  the  trumpet  sounded  long  and 
loud.  He  was  denounced  as  an  atheist,  a  deist,— an  enemy  to 
all  religion!  But  all  this  would  not  do;  republicanism  tri- 
umphed ;  the  man  of  the  people  was  elected  ;  our  liberties  were, 
once  more,  secured  ;  and  the  golden  dreams  of  a  venal  clergy 
dissolved  into  empty  air,  <*  without  a  wreck  behind  !" 

The  New  England  clergy  have  stoutly  denied  this  charge  ; 
but  in  vain.  The  testimony  of  I.  Thomson  docs  not  staiiil 
alone.  It  is  sustained  61/  a  cloud  of  witnesses^  from  which  I  will 
select  tlie  following,  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  doubting  reader : 

Dr.  Lyman,  of  Hatfield,  (Mass.)  in  a  sermon  preached  Nov. 
4th,  1804,  the  day  preceding  the  choice  of  electors  for  President 
and  rice-President,  said,  <*  The  civil,  no  less  than  the  ecclesi- 
astical powers  among  the  nations,  are  to  stand  by  the  Lord  of 
the  whole  earth  ;  and  they  must  unite  and  combine  their  labours, 
and  be  fellow-helpers  for  the  good  and  happiness  of  the  church." 
«  Those  who  would  dissolve  the  connection  between  civil  rulers, 
and  religious  teachers,  and  destroy  the  influence  which  they 
have  in  that  connection,  are  putting  asunder  what  God  has 
joined.  God  has  joined  together  Moses  and  Aaron  ;  Zerubba- 
bel  and  Joshua,  Christian  rulers  and  Christian  teachers  :  and 


1^0 

he  never  had  a  church  at,  peace  and  in  prosperity,  where  lead- 
ers in  civil  life  and  teachers  of  religion,  did  not,  in  some  good 
degree,  unite  their  counsels  and  operations."  *«  The  church 
cannot  be  at  rest  andinpeace,  unless  civil  magistrates  become 
the  NURSING  FATHERS  of  the  church.** 

Now  this  political  sermonizing  was  on  the  eve  of  a  presiden- 
tial election;  and  the  language  is — "Choose  thou  unto  thee 
Zeruhhahel ;  one  who  will  be  2k^Jelloxv -helper,  a  nursing  father  to 
our  church — one  who  will  unite  his  "  counsels  and  operations" 
with  our  teachers. 

The  same  sentiments  are  found  in  the  late  Timothy  Dwight's 
<^«  Travels,  in  New  England  and  New  York,"  published  in  four 
volumes  octavo.  Speaking  of  the  state  of  religion  in  Rhode 
Island,  this  author  remarks  that,  "farmers  and  mechanics  push 
themselves  into  the  desk  for  two  reasons,  to  avoid  labour^  and 
to  display  their  gifts,  or,  in  other  words,  from  sloth  and  spiritual 
pride."  «  Ministers  have  to  depend  on  roiM^ifarr/ contribution. 
This  evil  is  radical  and  can  never  be  remedied  but  by  the  inter- 
position or  GOVERNMENT."     Vol.  iii.  p.  66. 

Similar  complaints  are  made  hy  this  writer,  with  respect  to 
New  York  : — "  At  the  best,"  says  he,  "  the  minister  will  hold 
his  living  on  a  tenure  absolutely  precarious,  and  this,  of  itself, 
will  discourage  men,  qualijiedfor  the  office^from  entering  on  if."f 

In  another  place,  the  same  author  tells  us,  that  a  variety  of 
different  sects  in  the  same  community,  destroys  or  weakens  the 
influence  of  religion;  and  that  its  full  effects  on  society  are 
only  to  he  looked  for  where  there  is  but  one  kind,  &c.,  or  words 
to  thiit  amount.  Here,  then,  we  have  church  and  state,  and 
homogeneous  influence  over  again  ! 

Having  been  foiled  in  their  expectations  of  getting  their 
liands  into  *'  the  public  chest,"  by  the  election  of  Thomas  Jef- 
ferson, the  "  enterprising  ministers"  of  New  England,  are 
endeavouring  to  acccmplish  the  same  object  by  other  means,  as 
set  forth  in  the  second  letter  of  I.  Thomson,  <'  Zerubbabel  and 

*  These  remarks  come  with  a  very  bad  grace  from  this  quarter,  whilst  we 
see  so  many  "pious young'  men,"  forsaking'  their  mechanical  aud  agricultural 
pursuits,  to  go  into  colleges  and  seminaries,  and  lead  a  life  of  idleness  and  ease 
on  the  public  funds. 

■\  The  author,  it  seems,  is  well  aware  of  the  mercenary  character  of  his 
brethren,  and  that  they  will  not  enter  on  their  pastoral  duties  without  A  full 
certainty  of  being  well  paid  for  it.  Now,  tiiese  are  precisely  the  kind  of  mi- 
nisters whom  the  Apostles  Paul  and  Peter  would  have  rejected  as  not  qualified 
for  the  station  :  "  A  bishop  must  not  be  greedy  of  Jlltht/  lucre**  1  Tim.  iii.  3. 
'•  A  bishop  must  not  be  given  to  Jilthy  lucre."  Tit.  1,  7. — "Feed the  flock  of 
Hod  which  is  among  you,  taking  the  oversight  thereof,  not  by  constraint,  but 
■mUinghj  ,-  not  for  filthy  Inert,  but  of  a  ready  mi?id."     1  Pet.  t.  2, 


JoShua"  are  now  to  be  *< joined  together,"  by  creating  a  liostof 
•<  fellow-helpers,"  and  "  nursing  fathers"  through  the  medium  of 
colleges  and  theological  seminaries.  Every  college  that  is  not  un- 
der Calvinistic  influence  is  to  be  **  cryed  down"  and  Presidents 
appointed  in  each  college  who  shall  "  have  the  address  to  instil 
the  Calvinistic  sentiments y  without  the  students  being  sensible  of 
it !"  "  They  will  go  out  into  the  world,  and  will  have  their 
influence  in  society.  In  this  way  we  can  get  a  better  support 
without  any  law  than  we  have  ever  had  with.  And  be^des, 
when  all  otir  colleges  are  under  our  influence,  it  will  establish 
our  sentiments  and  iiifluencey  so  that  we  can  manage  the  civil 
government  as  we  please  !" 

Here  we  are  furnished  with  a  clue,  by  which  to  discern  the 
reason,  why  those  missionaries,  sent  out  by  the  Presbyterian 
board,  to  ascertain  the  wants  of  our  "  thirsty  land,"  excluded, 
in  their  estimate,  ministers  who  were  not  under  Calvinistic  in- 
fluence. We  now  perceive  the  full  force  of  Lyman  Beecher's 
remarks,  when  he  says ;  **  There  is  a  state  of  society  to  be 
formed  by  an  extensive  combination  of  institutions,  religious, 
civil  and  literary,  which  never  can  exist  without  the  co-opera- 
tion of  an  educated  ministry.  The  integrity  of  the  union  de- 
mands special  exertions  to  produce  in  the  nation  a  more  homo- 
geneous character,  and  bind  us  together  by  firmer  bonds.  A 
remedy  must  be  applied  to  this  vital  defect  of  our  national 
organization."  "  But  what  sliall  that  remedy  be  ?  There  can 
be  but  one.  The  prevalence  of  pious,  intelligent,  enterprising 
ministers  throughout  the  nation,  at  the  ratio  of  one  for  every 
thousand,  would  establisli  schools,  and  academies,  and  colleges, 
and  habits,  and  institutions  of  homogeneous  influence." 

Such  then  are  tiie  ambitious  aims  of  an  educated  Presbyterian 
ministry.  The  great  exertions  making  to  extend  the  Calvinis- 
tic sentiments — to  furnish  us  witli  an  enterprising  minister  for 
every  thousand  souls — to  establish  a  homogeneous  influence ; 
and  the  defect  so  much  complained  of  in  our  national  organiaa- 
tiouy  cannot  now  be  misunderstood — and  deserve  the  serious 
attention  of  every  friend  to  civil  and  religious  liberty  ! 

1  am  not  conscious  of  a  disposition  either  to  magnify  things 
in  their  nature  of  small  moment,  or  to  indulge  groundless  ap- 
prehensions. Whilst  the  influence  of  men  of  ignoble  minds  and 
rancorous  spirits,  is  confined  by  public  sentiment,  within  that 
narrow  limit  which  conimori  sense  dravTS  aronnil  it — although 
such  men  may,  like  the  insect  they  resemble,  eject  their  venom, 
and  spin  their  web,  they  are  objects  of  pity  rather  than  of  fear. 
But  when  to  these  qualities,  are  added  an  ambitious  seeking 
after  wealth  and  power;  with  natural  talents  -,  and  all  adroitly 


covered  with  a  sanctimonious  garb ; — it  is  then  that  they  become 
objects  of  fear  ;  just  causes  of  alarm  to  the  community. 

It  is  a  safe  position,  and  one,  the  truth  of  which  is  supported 
by  evidence  little  short  of  demonstration,  that  power  is  no  where 
more  dangerous  to  the  best  interests  of  civil  society,  than  in  the 
hands  of  a  hireling  priesthood :  that,  although  tlie  religion  of 
Jesus  Christ  raises  the  expectations  of  its  votaries  far  above 
sublunary  things,  and  dissevers  their  connection  from  everjf 
worlflly  interest ;  yet  such  has  been  the  abuse  of  it,  that  it  is 
from  the  grovelling  ambition  of  those  who  profess  to  teach  it  to 
others,  that  the  civil  and  religious  liberties  of  mankind  have 
received  the  most  fatal  wounds  ! !  And  whilst  men  shall  choose 
to  *<  heap  to  themselves"  such  teachers,  their  liberties  will  be 
no  longer  safe,  than  whilst  a  kind  of  balance  of  power  is  main- 
tained by  their  division  into  a  number  of  different  sects  ;  and 
thus  the  following  line  of  Pope  is  as  applicable  to  the  religmis., 
as  to  the  physical  world  : 

"All  nature's  difference  keeps  all  nature's  peace." 

The  truth  of  these  remarks  is  exemplified  in  the  temper  and 
conduct  of  the  Presbyterian  clergy.  Confiding  in  their  num- 
berSf  already  do  they  begin  to  threaten  our  *'  civil  rulers," 
with  the  coercive  influence  of  their  fifteen  hundred  ministers  ; 
and  to  «cry  down"  those  who  are  not,  as  yet,  disposed  to  be- 
come « the  nursing  fathers  of  the  church  ! !"  Already  is  heard 
the  clerical  cry  of  atheist,  deist,  heretic,  against  those  who 
oppose  their  sectarian  schemes  and  ambitious  designs  !  Now 
when  the  cloven  foot  of  intolerance  is  thus  put  forth,  even  in 
open  day — when  more  than  a  speck  of  war  already  appears  in 
the  Calvinistic  horizon,  and  Ihunderings  even  now  assail  our 
ears,  what  may  not  honest  dissenters  justly  apprehend,  should 
Lyman  Beecher's  ^'liomogeneous  influence"  prevail,  and  there 
be  set  over  them  an  **  enterprising"  minister  for  every  thou- 
sand ? 

Now,  for  all  those  evils  in  the  religioiis  world,  where  shall  we 
find  a  remedy  ?  "  There  can  be  but  one  ;"  and  that  is  to  place 
the  gospel  on  its  orginal  ground  :  to  have  a  disinterested  minis- 
try^  called  of  God,  and  preaching  it  without  money  and  without 
price.  In  the  church  the  love  of  money  has,  truly,  been  *«  the 
root  of  all  evil :"  the  Pandora's  box  from  whence  have  spread 
all  the  evils  which  Christendom  has  suffered.  History  testifies 
to  the  truth  of  this;  and  your  own  case  furnishes  a  recent  evi- 
dence, that  human  nature,  in  the  corvl,  and  girded  with  the 
linen  Ephod,  is  far  from  being  proof  against  the  deceitfulnessof 
richeSj  and  the  allurements  of  power  !  Such  then,  are  the  bitter 


truits  which  have  ever  been  produced  by  an  educated,  hireling 
ministry.  Now  that  which  hath  let,  will  continue  to  let  until  it 
be  taken  out  of  the  way  ;  and  I  assume  it  as  a  position  that  can- 
not be  shaken,  that  the  righteousness  of  Zion  will  never  "  go 
forth  as  brightness,  nor  the  salvation  thereof  as  a  lamp  that 
hiirneth,"  tuitilthe  honours  and  emoluments  of  a  seducing^  deceit- 
ful ivorld,  are  wholly  separatedfrom  the  office  of  her  functionaries. 
But  we  arc  triumphantly  met  with  the  truism,  that  <*  preachers 
cannot  live  on  air  !"  This  leads  me  to  expose  another  strange 
discrepancy  that  maintains  between  your  doctrine  and  your 
practice  :  "  There  is  not  a  fly,"  says  a  Calvinistic  writer, 
*«  but  has  had  infinite  wisdom  concerned,  not  only  in  its  struc- 
ture, but  in  its  destination^  And  again — "  Nor  did  Bishop 
Hopkins,"  says  Toplady,  (a  champion  for  orthodoxy,)  "  go  a 
jot  too  far  in  asserting  as  follows  :  *  A  sparrow,  wliose  price  is 
but  mean,  and  whose  life,  therefore,  is  but  contemptible,  and 
whose  flight  seems  giddy  and  at  random  ;  jetit  falls  not  to  the 
ground,  neither  lights  any  where,  without  your  Father.  His 
all-wise  Providence  hath  before  appointed  what  bough  it  shall 
pitch  on  ;  what  grains  it  shall  pick  up  ;  where  it  shall  lodge,  and 
.  where  it  shall  build ;  on  what  it  shall  live,  and  when  it  shall  die."* 
Yet  they  that  hold  this  doctrine,  are  afraid  that  this  same 
Providence  will  let  them  starve,  and  even  whilst  they  are 
labouring  in  his  vineyard  ! !  Truly,  your  ministers  have  great 
reason  to  pray  for  an  increase,  not  of  their  faith  only,  but  also 
of  their  consistency  ! 

The  practice  of  the  Apostles  and  primitive  Christians  in 
ancient,  and  that  of  the  Quakers  and  others  in  modern  times, 
evidences  the  possibility  of  preaching  the  gospel  without  charge. 
What  was  Paul's  experience?  "  Ye  received  me,"  said  he  to 
tlic  Galatians,  «  as  an  angel  of  God,  for  if  it  had  been  possible, 
ye  would  have  plucked  out  your  own  eyes,  and  have  given 
them  to  me." 

But  let  it  be  granted  that  modern  Christendom  would  be 
less  kind,  less  hospitable  to  those  whose  feet  are  shod  with 
the  preparation  of  the  gospel  of  our  Lord,  than  the  Gentile 
nations  were  in  the  days  of  Paul.  Let  it  be  supposed,  if 
possible,  that  in  a  country  where  the  necessaries  of  life  are 
found  in  such  profusion,  as  to  be  a  source  of  complaint,  that 
your  clergy  might  on  some  occasions  find  it  difficult  to  pro- 
cure food  enough  to  satisfy  the  wants  of  nature :  still  this 
very  circumstance  should  tend  rather  to  increase  their  faith, 
by  leading  to  a  comparison  between  their  own  situations  and 
that  of  their  Divine  Master  and  his  disciples  !  He  had  not 
where  to  lay  his  head :  barley  bread  and  fish  were  the  usual 


fare  of  him  and  his  followers  ;  and  on  some  occasions  they  were 
even  fain  to  eat  the  raw  grain  in  the  fields  to  appease  their 
hunger  !  But  should  other  resources  fail,  have  not  your  clergy 
hands  ?  The  Apostles,  when  occasionally  released  from  their 
master's  service,  laboured — "  Yea,  you  yourselves  know,"  said 
Paul,  «*  that  these  hands  have  ministered  to  my  necessities, 
and  to  them  that  were  with  me.''  Are  your  clergy  better  than 
Paul  ?  Or  have  they  forgoUen  tlie  first  letter  of  the  Christian 
minister's  alphabet:  ♦«!  have  covetted  no  man's  silver  or  gold, 
or  apparel — but  having  food  and  raiment,  I  have  learnt  to  be 
content.'* 

Now  what  an  impression  would  be  made  on  the  world,  by  the 
restoration  of  the  primitive  gospel,  and  primitive  simplicity  ! 
The  cry  of  priest-craft  would  cease;  the  mouths  of  gainsayers 
"would  be  stopt;  all  pride,  vanity,  and  secular  aims,  would  cease 
to  exist;  the  buyers  and  sellers  would  be  driven  from  the  tem- 
ple ; — no  more  reverends,  nor  right  reverends — no  more  pa- 
laces, nor  extravagant  display  in  the  buildings  devoted  to  the 
worship  of  God — no  more  Theological  Seminaries — no  more 
cry  of  give,  give  ! — "  Great  gulfs"  fix^d  between  religious  sects 
by  envy,  by  malice,  or  by  ambition,  would  be  obliterated  ;  and  « 
all  the  labourers  in  the  Lord's  vineyard,  would  put  "shoulder 
to  shoulder,"  as  in  Apostolic  times,  and  be  united  "  as  the  heart 
of  one  man"  in  winning  souls  to  God  ! 

Now  what  a  sad  reverse  is  presented  by  your  present  sys- 
tem !  Souls  perishirjg  for  lack  of  knowledge  ;  for  the  want  of 
money  to  make  ministers,  and  then,  the  want  of  money  to  pay 
them  !  Meeting  houses  almost  wholly  deserted,  and  the  worship 
of  God  suspended  for  want  of  money  !  Preaching,  or  as  you 
believe,  salvation  withheld  for  lack  of  a  little  filthy  lucre  to 
purchase  it !  ! 

Well  did  the  Apostle  speak,  when,  foreseeing  the  conse- 
quences of  making  a  trade  of  his  blessed  master's  unspeakable 
gift,  he  indignantly  replied  to  Simon  Magus,  "thy  money 
perish  with  thee,  because  thou  hast  thought  that  the  gift  of 
God  may  be  purchased  with  money." 

What  then  has  the  Christian  woild  to  hope  from  a  diffusion 
of  yonr  "  homogeneous  influence  ;"  from  having  an  "  educated 
minister  to  every  thousand,"  after  the  model  of  Europe  ?  Alas ! 
where  sliall  we  find  the  so  much  talked  of  *«  moral  and  religious 
influence''  excited  by  an  educated  ministry,  when  we  cast  our 
eyes  over  Euiope  ?  Behold  the  oceans  of  human  blood  shed  in 
her  wars — the  miseries  and  oppression  of  her  people  !  But  take 
a  wider  view.  What  has  an  educated  ministry  done  for  the 
M'orld  !    Have  we  seen  angels  in  the  shape  of  educated  minis- 


125 

ters,  governing  her  spiritual  concerns  ?  "  Let  liistory  answer 
this  question."  What  sayeth  it?  Wherever  an  educated  mi- 
nistry have  become  numerous,  and  obtained  power,  the  kind  of 
moral  influence  excited  by  them  has  tended  to  produce  strife 
and  persecution,  and  oppression,  and  bloodshed  ! — But  here  we 
are  met  by  one  of  your  professors  of  theology,  Dr.  Miller,  with 
the  fi>irowing  appeal  : 

"  Now  I  appeal,''  says  the  professor,  "  to  all  impartial 
readers,  who  have  the  least  knowledge  of  ecclesiastical  history^ 
whether  those  who  have  embraced  the  general  system  of  Chris- 
tian doctrine,  designated  by  the  name  o(  Calvinism,  have  not 
been  in  all  ages,  distinguished  as  *  the  stricter  sort*  of  professing 
Christians  ?  Have  they  not  always  been  reproached  by  the 
laxer  classes  as  *  austere,  puritanical,'  and  enemies  of  many 
*  innocent  indulgencies  ?*'* 

Of  all  crimes,  those  committed  under  the  name  and  pretext 
of  religion,  are  most  to  be  deprecated.  Of  all  attacks  upon 
religious  communities,  those  made  in  the  name  of  JesuJi,  *'with 
much  prayer,  and  seeking  after  duty,*'  whilst  the  writer  is  nerved 
with  unholy  passions,  and  falsehood  and  calumny  teem  from 
his  pen,  are  most  to  be  detested.  In  the  foregoing  pages  I 
have  traced  and  developed  the  secular  aims,  inconsistencies, 
and  plottings  of  a  venal  clergy,  because  I  believed  that  the 
present  statQ  of  society  and  the  cause  of  truth  demanded  it.  I 
am  now  to  revive  and  bring  into  public  view,  past  occurrences, 
which,  without  strong  reasons,  should  have  rested  for  ever  in 
the  tomb  of  oblivion.  But  after  attempts  on  the  part  of  your 
clergy  to  establish  Calvinism  as  the  national  religion  in  this 
country,  by  making  our  civil  magistrates  the  **  nursing  fathers 
of  the  church  :" — after  showing  that  having /aiUed  in  it,  they 
are  still  aiming  at  the  same  thing,  by  instilling  through  the  me- 
dium of  schools  and  colleges,  the  Calvinistic  sentiments,  "with- 
out the  students  being  sensible  of  it,"  and  so  to  diffuse  2Lndestab- 
/is/i  their  **  sentiments  and  influence,"  that  they  may  <*  manage 
the  civil  government  as  they  please  ;"  and  after  such  a  formal, 
confident  appeal  to  history  for  evidence  of  the  pre-eminence  of 
the  Calvinistic,  over  all  other  Christian  professors,  for  piety 
and  virtue,  the  « impartial  reader"  will  excuse  me  for  pre- 
senting before  the  public  an  outline  of  what  history  furnishes, 
of  the  practical  operation  of  Calvinism,  in  all  cases  where  »*  civil 
magistrates,"  have  been  its  « fellow  helpers  and  nursing 
fathers." 

*I  commence  wiih  Calvin,  justly  considered  the  father  and 

*  The  summary  account  here  g-iven  of  Calvinistic  persecution,  &c.  is  taken 
from  Mosh.  Eccl.  History,  vol.  iv. — Monthly  Repos.  voi,  i,  and  v. — Neal's  History 


126 

ibiinder  of  the  sect;  the  first  professor  of  Christianity  who  em-= 
bodied  the  tenets  of  Fatalism,  and  exhibited  its  deformities  to 
the  world. 

This  reformer  cherished,  as  a  leading  article  of  his  faith,  the 
detesatble  principle  introduced  in  the  fourth  century,  that  er- 
rors in  religion  are  punishable  with  civil  penalties  aiid  corporeal 
tortures  ;  and  he  no  sooner  saw  himself  at  the  head  of  a  new 
sect,  and  tlie  civil  magistrates  enlisted  as  its  •<  nursing  fathers," 
tljan  he,  with  his  followers,  began  to  put  it  into  effectual  opera- 
tion against  all  dissenters  from  the  Calvinistic  faith.  Amongst 
the  number  of  those  who  felt  the  turbulence  of  the  reformer's 
passions,  and  the  malignity  of  his  unhallowed  zeal,  were  Bolsec 
and  Castalio.  These  men,  the  first  a  man  of  probity  and  much 
esteemed,  he  caused  to  be  banished,  because  they  had  the  inde- 
pendence to  maintain  opinions  different  from  his  own.  But  the 
foulest  blot  on  Calvin's  memory  is  his  treatment  of  Servetus. 
Calvin  endeavoured  to  prevail  on  Servetus  to  adopt  his  creed, 
but  without  success  ;  and  the  latter  perceiving  the  storm  that 
was  gathering  around  him,  retired  from  Geneva.  But  after- 
wards, in  passing  within  Calvin's  jurisdiction,  he  had  him  kid- 
napped, set  up  the  cry  of  heresy  against  him  :  and  bringing  for- 
ward one  of  his  servants  to  prove  the  charge,  together  with  some 
confidential  letters  of  the  prisoner,  had  him  convicted  and  burnt 
at  the  stake.  Calvin  had,  for  a  length  of  time,  premeditated  the 
destruction  of  his  resolute  opponent,  as  fully  appears  from 
a  letter  he  wrote  to  a  friend,  in  which  he  said,  that  "  if 
this  heretic  should  fall  into  his  hands,  he  would  order  it  so,  that 
it  should  cost  him  his  life  ,•"  and  when  the  deed  was  done,  he 
boasted  of  having  exterminated  Servetus  the  Spaniard." 

The  same  intemperate  zeal  which  fired  the  breast  of  Calvin, 
shortly  afterwards  made  its  appearance  in  Holland,  where  the 
Calvinists  were  the  strojigest  sect.  It  brought  to  the  block  the 
gray  hairs  of  Oldenbarnevelt,  and  imprisoned  the  famous  Grotius 
for  life.  The  Armenians,  who  asked  no  more  than  a  bare  tole- 
ration for  their  opinions,  were  treated  as  heretics  by  the  Cal- 
vinistic Synod  of  Dort,  because  they  could  not  subscribe  to  their 
doctrine  on  the^re  points* — denied  the  privilege  of  explaining 
their  sentiments — tried  as  criminals,  and  condemned.  The  civil 
magistrates  in  this  case,  (as  that  of  Servetus  and  others,)  were 
the  "nursing  fathers"  of  the  church;  and  the  consequence, was, 

of  the  Puritans,  vol.  iii. — Russel's  Mod.  Eur.  vol.  iii. — N.  Am.  Review,  vol. 
vi. — Wright's  History  of  Persecution — Sewell's  History — Basse's  Sufferings  of 
the  Quakers,  vol.  ii.  and  iii. — te  which  1  refer  the  reader. 

♦  The  five  points  are,  Election,  Redenxption,  Original  §in.  Effectual  Grace, 
and  Perseverance. 


1S7 

that  the  religious  meetings  of  the  Armenians  were  suppressed, 
their  preachers  silenced,  many  imprisoned,  and  others  separated 
from  their  families,  and  driven  into  eXile. 

In  England,  at  the  period  of  the  civil  commotions,  the  disor- 
ganization of  the  government,  with  the  violent  effervescence 
which  took  place,  both  in  church  and  state,  brought  forth  Cal- 
vinism from  its  lurking  place,*  and  gave  it  a  temporary  ascen- 
dancy. The  Presbyterian  parliament  established  the  use  of  the 
Directory  by  law,  and  prohibited  that  of  the  Common  Prayer- 
Book.  For  using  the  latter,  either  in  churches,  private  places, 
or  families,  a  line  of  five  ])ounds  was  imposed  for  the  first 
offence,  ten  pounds  for  the  second,  and  one  year's  imprison- 
ment for  the  third.  Ministers  not  observing  the  law,  were  fined 
forty  shillings;  and  any  one  who  should  preach  or  publish 
against  the  Dirtctory,  from  five  pounds  to  fifty  pounds.  Such 
were  the  first  steps  of  the  Presbyterians  in  England  towards 
uniformity. 

The  Presbyterian  writers  of  this  time  represented  toleration 
as  "  contrary  to  godliness — opening  a  door  to  libertinism  and 
profaneness,  and  a  tenet  to  be  rejected  SiS  foul  poison .'"  "It  is 
putting,"  said  they,  *<  the  sword  into  the  hands  of  a  madman,  and 
appointing  a  city  of  refuge  for  the  devil  to  fly  to" — the  nourisher 
of  all  heresies  and  schisms;  and  to  let  men  serve  God  according 
to  the  persuasion  of  their  own  consciences,  was  to  **  cast  out  one 
devil  that  seven  more  may  enter.''' 

In  treating  with  their  dethroned  king,  when  a  prisoner  in 
the  Isle  of  Wight,  the  Presbyterians  required  the  entire  anni- 
hilation of  Episcopacy,  and  the  establishment  of  Presbyterian- 
ism  as  the  national  religion,  without  the  least  provision  for 
liberty  of  conscience.  They  even  required  that  the  king  should 
consent  to  discard  the  use  of  the  Common  Prayer  Book  in  his 
own  private  family  I  In  short,  to  use  the  words  of  Macauly,  "the 
utter  extinction  of  Episcopacy,  and  their  setting  up  their  own 
idol  in  its  stead,  was  the  superior  consideration  for  which  it  is 
plain  the  Presbyterians  had  entered  into  the  hazard  of  war." 
The  parliament  "being  recruited  with  such  Presbyterian 
members  as  had  absconded  or  deserted  their  stations,  in  imita- 
tation  of  their  Genevan   master,   proceeded   to  remove   the 
veil,  and  to  exhibit  to  the  world  the  idol  of  their  faith  in  all 
its  native  deformity,  by  passing  the  following  ordinance,  dated 

♦The  first  Presbyterian  cTiurch  was  established  in  England,  in  1572,  in  the 
reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  The  commissioners  to  put  the  act  of  uniformity  in 
practice,  went  in  search  of  these  "  heretics,"  but  the  members  of  the  Pres- 
bytery kept  themselves  so  well  secreted  that  they  could  not  be  discovered,  Neal, 
vol.  i.  314, 


±28 

May  2(1,  164S.  "  All  persons  who  shall  willingly  mainfain? 
publisli,  or  defend,  by  preaching  or  writing,  the  following  he- 
resies with  obstinacy,  shall  upon  complaint,  and  proof,  by  the 
oaths  of  two  witnesses,  before  two  justices  of  the  peace,  or  con- 
fession of  the  party,  be  committed  to  prison  without  bail,  or 
mainpriscj  till  the  next  gaol  delivery  ;  and  in  case  the  indict- 
ment shall  then  be  found,  and  tlie  party  upon  his  trial  shall  not 
abjure  his  said  error,  he  shall  suffer  the  pains  of  death -without 
benejit  of  clergy,^' — '*The  heresies,  or  errors  are  those  following: 

«  1.  That  there  is  no  God.  2.  That  God  is  not  omnipresent, 
omniscient,  almighty,  eternal,  and  perfectly  holy.  3.  That  the 
Father  is  not  God,  that  the  Son  is  not  God,  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  not  God,  or  that  these  three  are  not  one  eternal  God  ;  or,  that 
Christ  is  not  God  equal  witli  the  Father.  4.  The  denial  of  the 
manhood  of  Christ,  or  that  the  Godhead  and  Manhood  are  dis- 
tinct natures ;  or,  that  the  humanity  of  Christ  is  pure  and 
unspotted  of  all  sin.  5.  The  maintaining  that  Christ  did  not 
die,  nor  rise  again,  nor  ascend  into  heaven  bodily.  6.  The 
denying  that  the  death  of  Christ  is  meritorious  on  the  behalf  of 
believeis ;  or,  that  Jesas  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God.  7.  The 
denying  that  the  holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament 
are  the  word  of  God.  8.  The  denying  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  dead,  and  a  future  judgment." 

The  ordinance  proceeds  to  specify  some  other  errors,  for 
which  the  party  "  shall  he  committed  to  prison,  till  he  find 
sureties  that  he  shall  not  publish  or  maintain  the  said  error  or 
eiTors  any  more."     "  The  errors  are  those  following  :" 

<•  1.  That  all  men  shall  be  saved.  2.  That  man  by  nature 
hath  free  xvill  to  turn  to  God.  3.  That  God  may  be  worshipped 
in,  or  by  pictures  or  images.  4.  That  the  soul  dies  with  the 
body,  or  after  death  goes  neither  to  heaven  nor  hell,  but  to 
purgatory.  5.  That  the  soul  of  man  sleeps  when  the  body  is 
dead.  6.  That  the  revelations  or  workings  of  the  spirit,  are  a 
rule  of  faith,  or  Christian  life,  though  diverse  from,  or  contrary 
to  the  written  word  of  God.  7.  That  a  man  is  bound  to  believe 
no  more  than  by  his  reason  he  can  comprehend.  8.  That  the  moral 
law  contained  in  the  ten  commandments  is  no  rule  of  the  Chris- 
tian life.  9.  That  a  believer  need  not  repent,  or  pray  for  par- 
don of  sin.  10.  That  the  two  sacraments  of  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  supper,  are  not  ordinances  commanded  by  the  word 
of  God.  11.  That  the  baptism  of  infants  is  unlawful^  and  void, 
and  that  such  persons  ought  to  be  baptised  again.  12.  That  the 
observation  of  the  Lord's  day,  as  enjoined  by  the  laws  and  ordi- 
nances of  this  realm,  is  not  according,  or  is  contrary  to  the  word 
of  God.    13.  That  it  is  not  lawful  to  join  in  public  or  family 


prayer,  or  to  teach  children  to  pray.  14.  That  the,  churches  of 
England  are  no  true  churches,  nor  their  ministers  and  ordinances 
true  ministers  and  ordinances ;  or  that  the  church  governmenthy 
Presbytery  is  antichristian  or  unlawful.  16.  That  magistracy, 
or  the  power  of  the  civil  magistrate,  by  law  established  in 
England,  is  unlawful.  16.  That  all  use  of  arms,  though  for  the 
public  defence  (and  be  the  cause  never  so  just)  is  unlawful." 

This  law,  besides  the  severity  of  its  penalties,  allowed 
neither  the  privilege  of  a  jury,  nor  the  liberty  of  an  appeal.  "  This 
was  one  of  the  most  shocking  laws,"  says  Neal,  "  I  have 
met  with,  and  shows  that  the  governing  Presbyterians  would 
have  made  a  terrible  use  of  their  power,  had  they  been  sup- 
ported by  the  sword  of  the  civil  magistrate."  <*The  ordinance 
was  a  comprehensive  engine  of  cruelty,  and  would  have  tor- 
tured great  numbers  of  good  Ciiristians  and  good  subjects." 

Language  is  inadequate  to  express  the  indignation  which 
every  true  Christian  must  feel  at  such  proceedings ;  and  hu- 
manity shrinks  from  the  contemplation  of  the  horrid  scenes 
which  would  have  ensued,  had  not  the  civil  magistrates,  (those 
<«  illiterate  heads,"  whom  Lyman  Beecher  informs  us  are  not 
to  be  «  entrusted  with  religion")  defended  the  people  from  the 
violence  of  the  Presbyterian  clergy.  Happily  about  this  period, 
(the  king's  power  being  no  longer  dreaded,)  the  Calvinists 
began  to  quarrel  among  themselves,  and  a  party  separated  from 
the  original  stock,  denominated  Independents,  who  professing  a 
greater  degree  of  moderation  than  their  brethren,  soon  became 
popular,  and  getting  possession  of  the  sword,  through  the  medium 
of  the  '*  self  demjing  ordinance,'^  put  down  their  opponents  ;  and 
the  army  which  now  became  the  ruling  power,  was  so  favoura- 
ble to  toleration,  that  the  above  law  against  heretics  was  never 
enforced — a  law  which  would  have  planted  gibbets  all  over 
England,  filled  her  prisons,  and  in  short,  produced  scenes 
which  would  have  rivalled  the  day  of  St.  Bartholomew,  or  the 
Oicilian  vespers. 

But  although  Calvinism  was  thus  disappointed  of  its  prey  in 
England,  it  took  ample  vengeance  on  dissenters  both  in  Ire- 
land and  in  Scotland.  The  soldiers  of  Cromwell,  although,  in 
imitation  of  their  commander,  they  spent  much  time  in  fast- 
ing, in  singing  Psalms,  and  in  prayer  and  seeking  the  Lord, 
made  a  dreadful  slaughter  of  the  garrisons  of  Wexford  and 
Drogheda,  butchering  tliem  in  cold  blood,  even  after  they  had 
submitted  to  the  law  of  the  conqderor.  In  like  manner,  the 
Presbyterians  in  Scotland,  having  ^defeated  the  royal  army, 
butchered  their  prisoners  in  cold  b^ood.  «  The  clergy  "  says 
Russel,  "  incited  the  civil  power  to  Hiis  severity,  and  even  soli- 

u 


130 

^ited  that  more  blood  might  he  spilt  on  the  scaffold  !  The  pulpit 
thundered  against  all  who  did  the  work  of  the  Lord  deceitfulltj. 
<  Thine  eye  shall  not  pity  !'  and  '  thou  shall  not  spare  !'  were 
maxims  frequently  inculcated  after  every  execution."  Vol.  ill, 
p.  352c 

Leaving  this  theatre  of  blood  and  bigotry,  I  invite  the  reader's 
attention  to  New  England,  whither  the  Presbyterians  fled  from 
persecution  at  home,  inflicted  by  an  "  educated  ministry"  in 
th«  shape  of  Episcopacy.  Having  felt  the  smart  of  ecclesi- 
astical tyranny,  it  was  to  have  been  expected  that  these 
«'  pilgrims"  would  have  sympathised  with  others  in  a  like  con- 
dition, agreeably  to  the  sentiment  of  a  heathen  author  : 

*•  Non  ignara  mali,  miseiis  succurrere  disco." 

But  bigotry  has  no  bowels  of  mercy.  The  first  Baptists  that 
came  among  these  people  "  were  treated  with  great  severity, 
and  punished  in  various  ways  for  their  heresies."  But  the 
main  force  of  their  persecuting  propensities  was  exerted 
against  the  Quakers,  whom  they  styled  "  a  cursed  sect  of 
heretics,"  "  The  Quakers,"  says  Belknap,  "  were,  at  first, 
banished,  but  this  proving  insufficient,  a  succession  of  sangui- 
nary laws  was  enacted  against  them,  of  which  imprisonment, 
whipping,  cutting  off"  the  ears,  boring  the  tongue  with  a  hot 
iron,  and  banishment  on  pain  of  death,  were  the  terrible  sanc- 
tions."    History  oj  JVew-Hampshire,  vol.  i.  p.  90. 

In  Massachusetts,  the  first  law  against  the  Quakers  is  dated 
Boston,  October  14,  1656.  This  law  enacts,  that  a  fine  of  one 
hundred  pounds  shall  be  imposed  on  any  master  of  a  vessel  who 
shall  bring  a  Quaker  into  the  state — that  any  Quaker  coming 
there  shall  be  severely  whipped,  kept  at  hard  labour,  until  sent 
away  at  his  own  charges,  and  no  one  be  permitted  to  see  or 
speak  to  him — that  any  one  importing  any  of  their  books,  or 
having  said  books  in  his  house,  shall  pay  forty  sliillings  for  the 
first  offence,  four  pounds  for  the  second,  and  suffer  banishment 
for  the  third — and  that  any  person  reviling  the  magistrates 
or  ministers,  shall  be  severely  whipt,  or  pay  the  sum  of  five 
pounds. 

Another  law  passed  October  14th,  1657,  enacts,  that  any  per- 
son who  shall  entertain,  or  conceal  a  Quaker,  sliall  forfeit  and 
pay  forty  shillings  for  every  hour's  such  entertainment  or  con- 
cealment, and  the  party  be  committed  to  prison  till  paid — that  any 
male  Quaker  returning  after  suffering  what  the  law  required, 
shall  lose  one  ear  for  the  first  offence,  and  be  kept  at  hard  la- 
bour until  sent  away  ;  and  the  other  ear  for  the  second  offence  ; 
that  every  woman  so  offending  shall  be  severely  whipped  and 


131 

sent  to  the  house  of  correction — that  for  a  third  offence  as  above, 
he  or  she  shall  have  their  tongues  bored  through  with  a  hot 
iron  ;  and  linally  that  all  Quakers  arising  among  themselves, 
shall  be  dealt  with  in  the  same  manner. 

On  the  20th  of  May,  1658,  another  law  was  passed  against 
domestic  Quakers,  enacting  that  any  one  professing  their  per- 
nicious ways,  by  speaking,  writing  or  meeting  together  for 
worship,  each  one,  so  offending  to  pay  ten  shillings  j  and  for 
preaching,  five  pounds,  and  to  be  kept  at  labour  until  sent 
away. 

In  the  same  year,  viz.  the  20th  October,  another  law  was 
passed,  ordaining,  that  any  person  being  convicted  to  be  of  the 
sect  of  Quakers  (no  overt  act  specified)  shall  be  banished  on  pain 
of  death — that  any  one  defending  them,  or  their  writings,  or 
withdrawing  from  the  established  worship,  and  frequenting 
meetings  of  their  own  ;  or  condemning  the  proceedings  of  the 
court,  shall  be  imprisoned  one  month  5  and  if  the  party  persist, 
banished  on  pain  of  death. 

The  foregoing  laws,  although  aimed  against  the  Quaker?, 
includes  other  blasphemous  heretics;  and  any  constable  was 
empowered,  without  warrant,  to  proceed  in  the  execution  of  the 
said  laws ;  and  the  magistrates  to  commit  to  prison,  at  theii» 
discretion,  and  without  bail. 

These  are  not  the  only,  nor  the  first  laws  that  were  framed 
by  the  Presbyterians  in  New  England  against  dissenters.  As 
early  as  the  year  1638,  this  work  was  begun.  In  that  year  it 
was  enacted  that  every  person  should  pay  the  priest,  and  also  that 
*«  wheever  shall  stand  excommunicated  for  six  months,  without 
labouring  what  in  him  or  her.lyeth  to  be  restored,  such  person 
shall  be  prpsented  to  the  court  of  assistants,  and  there  pro- 
ceeded v/ith  by  fine,  imprisonment  or  banishment,  as  their  con- 
tempt, or  obstinacy,  upon  full  hearing  shall  deserve." 

One  of  the  first  victims  to  this  ordinance  was  a  Baptist,  wltOj^ 
upon  his  refusal  to  have  his  infant  baptised,  was  complained  of 
to  the  court,  by  whose  order  he  was  tied  up  and  whipped. 

The  laws,  the  heads  of  which  I  have  recited  above,  were  not 
suffered  to  remain  a  dead  letter.  The  civil  magistrates  in 
New  England  were  «  fellow-helpers" — "  nursing  fathers  of  the 
church ;"  and  the  consequence  was,  a  series  of  cruelties,  to 
which  the  annals  of  Romish  persecution  scarcely  affords  a  paral- 
lel !  Many  were  severely  whipped,  imprisoned,  and  banished, 
without  offending  either  in  word  or  deed;  the  plain  language 
and  dress,  were  sufficient  reasons  for  subjecting  individuals  to 
the  most  acute  suffering.  Delicate  females  were  stripped  to  the 
waist,  tied  to  a  cart's  tail,  and  whipped  through  the  different 


13^ 

towns  to  the  end  of  the  jurisdiction.  Men  were  taken  from 
their  homes,  whilst  engaged  in  their  lawful  pursuits,  and  with- 
out any  assignable  cause,  imprisoned,  whipped,  and  banished  ; 
their  goods  seized  and  sold,  and  their  helpless  families  left 
unprotected  and  in  want  j  and  if  any  questioned  the  propriety 
or  legality  of  these  enormities,  although  of  their  own  members, 
they  were  also  subjected  to  similar  penalties. 

Amongst  the  many  cases  of  refined  barbarity,  the  following 
stands  pre-eminent :  the  heads  of  a  certain  family  had  been 
thrown  into  prison,  and  their  property  seized  and  sold.  Two 
of  their  children,  a  son  and  daughter,  remained  at  home,  and 
absenting  themselves  from  the  public  worship^  they  were  fined 
ten  pounds,  as  the  law  required.  But,  there  being  nothing  left 
to  pay  ^he  fine,  the  courts  of  Salem  and  Ipswich,  authorised 
the  treasurers  of  the  counties  to  transport  these  children  to 
Virginia  or  Barbadoes,  and  sell  them  as  slaves  !  !  !*  The  order 
was  not  executed,  because  no  captain  could  be  found  so  desti- 
tute of  feeling,  as  to  receive  them  on  board. 

After  making  an  ample  trial  of  whipping,  cropping,  branding, 
confiscation  of  goods,  starvation,  and  banishment,  and  finding 
that  all  these  engines  of  cruelty  were  but  as  a  feather  in  the 
scale,  when  opposed  to  the  weight  of  religious  obligation,  these 
persecutors  resolved  to  proceed  to  extremities,  and  to  try  the 
effect  of  hanging.  Already  had  four  of  their  victims  suffered 
martyrdom  on  a  gibbet ;  several  more  were  under  sentence  of 
death,  and  many  lay  in  prison  awaiting  their  trial,  when  an 
order  arrived  from  the  court  of  St.  James,  dated  the  9th  of 
September,  1661,  to  stop  all  proceedings  against  the  Quakers 
in  New  England,  and  to  send  home  such  as  were  or  should  be 
charged  with  crime,  to  be  tried  by  the  laws  of  the  m,other  coun- 
try :  and  thus  was  that  very  government  from  under  which  the 
Presbyterians  had  fled  to  avoid  a  cruel  persecution,  compelled 
to  interpose  its  authority  to  arrest  a  persecution  on  the  part  of 
these,  still  more  cruel ! ! 

Although  this  order  put  a  stop  to  further  executions,  yet 
whipping,  banishing,  &c.  continued  for  several  years  after- 
wards. As  one  Instance  out  of  many  others,  I  will  give  the 
following : 

<«  To  the  Constables  of  Dover^  Hampton,  Salisbury,  JVewbury, 
Rowley,  Ipswich,  Wenham,  Linn,  Boston,  Roxbury,  Dedham, 
and  until  these  vagabond  Quakers  are  carried  out  of  this  juris- 
diction : 

«  You  and  every  of  you  are  required  in  the  King's  Majesty's 
name,  to  take  these  vagabond  Quakers,  Anne  Coleman,  Mary 

•  See  Besse's  Sufferings,  London  edition,  quarto,  vol.  ii.  p.  197. 


133 

Tomkins,  and  Alice  Ambrose,  and  make  them  fast  to  the  cart's? 
tail,  and  driving  the  cart  through  your  several  towns,  to  whip 
them  on  their  backs,  not  exceeding  ten  stripes  apiece  on  each 
of  them,  in  each  town,  and  so  to  convey  them  from  constable  to 
constable,  till  they  come  out  of  this  jurisdiction,  as  you  will 
answer  it  at  your  peril;  and  this  shall  be  your  warrant. 

"  Per  me,      Richard  Walden. 
«.5<  Dover,  dated  December  22,  1663." 

This  order  was  cruelly  executed  through  the  first  three 
towns.  But  the  fourth  constable  believing  that  these  delicate 
women,  having  already  received  thirty  stripes  each,  must  die 
on  their  hands,  before  the  remaining  seventy  stripes  could  be 
inflicted,  run  the  hazard  of  breaking  the  law,  and  released  them. 

Through  the  whole  of  this,  as  in  every  other  persecution,  the 
priests  and  elders  were  the  most  active  persons  on  the  stage ; 
stirring  up  the  magistracy  and  the  people  .in  the  performance 
of  their  duhj,  and  thundering  from  the  pulpit,  against  all  who 
did  the  work  of  the  Lord  deceitfully  I 

I  here  close  this  brief  account  of  persecution  by  the  Calvin- 
ists.  On  Dr.  Miller's  appeal  no  further  comment  is  necessary. 
Enough  has  been  said  to  prove,  that  in  all  cases  where  the 
Calvinists  have  been  the  strongest  sect,  and  had  the  civil  ma- 
gistrates as  "  fellow-helpers,"  they  have  practised  a  degree 
of  cruelty  and  intolerance  towards  others,  little  short  of  the 
Roman  Inquisition  itself.  A  commixture  with  other  sects,  the 
genius  of  our  government,  and  the  interposition  of  the  secular 
arm,  in  behalf  of  liberty  of  conscience,  have  arrested  their 
violence  and  softened  their  asperities.  These  checks  once 
removed,  and  there  is  no  longer  any  security  for  dissenters. 
Of  this  we  have  an  earnest  in  the  temper  manifested  by  <•  Paul," 
by  W.  M.  Engles,  by  Dwight,  and  other  Presbyterian  writers. 
In  their  schools  and  colleges,  and  under  the  tuition  of  Calvin- 
istic  theologians,  those  pious  young  men,  educated  for  the  minis- 
try, are  drilled  into  a  firm  belief,  that  all  other  systems,  but 
the  Calvinistic,  are  tinctured  with  heresy  ;  and  that  this  is  the 
only  true  religion  in  the  world.  Moreover,  they  are  made  to 
pledge  themselves,  to  maintain  and  to  teach  the  doctrines  and 
tenets  comprised  in  the  «  Confession  of  Faith,"  and  no  other,' 
and  thus  the  Calvinistic  system  remains  the  same  (essentially) 
as  when  it  came  warm  from  the  hands  of  the  Westminster  As- 
sembly :  and  superstition,  ignorance,  and  error  is  perpetuated 
from  age  to  age ;  and  the  light  and  knowlege  shed  upon  the 
nature  of  the  Christian  religion,  is,  to  these  system-builders, 
shed  in  vain ' 


134 

Seeing,  therefore,  that  the  homogeneous  character,  toestab- 
blish  which,  ptr  fas  atitnefaSf  such  strenuous  efforts  are  now 
making  in  tiiis  country,  is  the  same  that  shed  so  baleful  an 
inliuence  in  Geneva,  in  Holland,  over  the  Presbyterian  parlia- 
ment, and  the  courts  of  New  England,  I  think  every  friend 
to  religious  liberty  has  abundant  cause  devoutly  to  pray  : 
"  From  such  an  influtnce  good  Lord  deliver  us ! .'" 


LETTER  VI. 


OF  COMPELLATION  AND  TITLES— OF  WORSHIP- 
THE  SABBATH— OATHS. 


1.  OF  COMPELLATION  AND  TITLES. 

"Holdfast  tliefomi  of  sound  words" — "  sound  speech  that  cannot  be  condemned." 

2  Tim.  i.  13,  Tit.  ii.  8. 

THERE  is  no  passion  of  the  human  soul  more  deprecated  in 
the  sacred  volume  ;  none  represented  to  be  more  unclean  in  the 
sight  of  God,  than  pride  or  self-exaltation.  It  was  the  main 
spring,  which  the  grand  adversary  of  man's  happiness  operated 
on  to  effect  his  fall :  **  Ye  shall  be  as  gods,  knowing  good  and 
evil" — and  this  same  principle  continues  to  be  a  chief  obstacle, 
a  grand  barrier  to  his  salvation.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no 
state  or  disposition  of  the  human  mind,  according  to  Scripture 
testimony,  more  essential  in  the  formation  of  the  religious  cha- 
racter, than  that  of  humility,  or  the  abasement  of  self.  «  Before 
honour,"  says  the  Scripture,  "  is  humility,  and  by  it  and  the 
fear  of  the  Lord,  are  riches,  and  honour,  and  life."  Humility 
forms  the  stepping  stone  to  the  throne  of  divine  mercy.  It  is 
interwoven  with  every  virtue.  It  is  the  salt  which  seasons  every 
offering,^ — the  sweet-smelling  savour  which  must  ascend  from 
every  sacrifice,  witliout  which  there  can  be  no  reconciliation 
nor  acceptance.  Hence  it  becomes  a  matter  of  the  liighest  im- 
portance, that  every  thing  which  may  have  a  tendency,  even 
in  the  remotest  degree,  to  exalt  the  creature,  or  impede  the 
growth  of  humility,  should  be  lopped  off,  as  having  no  place  in 
the  Christian  system. 

It  is  under  this  solemn  view  of  the  subject,  that  the  Quakers 
have  ceased  to  use  the  plural  expression  you,  to  a  single  per- 
son, together  with  other  ceremonious  words  and  titles  in  com- 
mon use  with  the  world,  because  they  have  a  direct  tendency 
to  keep  alive  that  principle  in  man  which  is  diametrically 
opposed  to  the  humbling  and  saving  operation  of  divine  grace. 


136 

I'he  practice  of  addressing  a  single  peraon  in  the  plural 
number,  arose  in  the  fourth  century.  It  is  first  met  with  in 
the  epistles  of  Symmachus  to  the  emperor  Theodosius,  in  which 
he  is  styled  "  your  godhead,  your  eternity,"  &c.  The  author 
of  this  impious  flattery  was  a  Roman  senator,  and  once  headed 
a  deputation  from  the  senate,  praying  for  the  eximlsion  of 
Christianity  and  the  restoration  of  heathen  worship.  He  had  been 
banished  from  the  court,  but  this  blasphemous  incense,  offered 
to  his  vain-glorious  master,  eflected  his  recall  and  exaltation 
to  the  consulate.  Such  is  the  source  of  this  vain  custom ;  a 
custom  not  less  at  variance  with  the  first  principles  of  univer- 
sal grammar,  than  with  the  language  and  precepts  of  the  Bible  : 
a  custom  which  learned  and  pious  men  have  not  ceased  to  re- 
monstrate against  in  every  age.  Thus  Howell,  in  his  history 
of  France,  written  about  the  year  1630,  says  :  *<  In  ancient 
times  the  peasants  addressed  their  kings  with  the  appellation 
of  thoUf  but  pride  and  flattery  first  put  inferiors  upon  paying  a 
plural  respect  to  the  single  person  of  every  superior,  and  supe- 
riors upon  receiving  it."  Also,  John  Maresius,  a  member  of 
the  French  Academy,  in  the  preface  to  his  Clovis,  says  :  «  Let 
none  wonder  that  the  word  thou  is  used  to  princes  and  prin- 
cesses in  this  work,  for  we  use  the  same  to  God,  and  of  old  the 
same  w^as  used  to  Alexanders,  Cesars,  queens,  and  empresses. 
The  use  of  the  word  you  was  only  introduced  by  those  base 
flatteries  of  men  of  later  ages,  from  whence  it  came  at  last  to 
persons  of  lower  quality."  Erasmus  also  wrote  a  treatise  in 
the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  on  the  impropriety  of 
substituting  you  for  thoUf  and  states,  <«  that  this  strange  substi- 
tution originated  wholly  in  the  flattery  of  men."  Luther,  about 
the  same  time,  spared  no  pains  to  expunge  the  word  you,  and  to 
put  thou  in  its  place.  In  his  "  Ludus,"  he  ridicules  the  use  of 
the  former  in  the  following  manner:  "Magister,  vos  estisiratus? 
in  English  equivalent  to,  **  gentlemen  art  thou  ajigry?'* 

The  objections  which  I  have  mentioned  to  the  use  of  you  to 
one  person,  apply  with  still  greater  force  against  all  titles  of 
honor,  and  compliments,  and  are  positively  forbidden  in  the 
New  Testament.  The  Pharisees  and  Scribes  loved  "  to  be 
called  of  men  Rabbi,  Rabbi ;  but  be  ye  not  called  Rabbi,  for  one 
is  your  master  even  Christ,  and  all  ye  are  brethren."  This 
word  is  derived  from  the  Hebrew  verb  nai,  which  signifies  to 
become  great,  or  many,  to  increase  or  magnify  ;  and  in  this 
sense  the  word  Rabbi  was  used  among  the  Jews,  as  a  title  of 
honor,  ascribing  (as  it  were)  to  one  person,  the  power,  or  wis- 
dom, or  learning  of  many :  which  is  analagous  to  the  origin 
and  application  of  the  plural  expression  you  to  a  single  indivi- 


137 

dual,  as  possessing  in  himself,  the  virtue,  power,  or  dignity 
of  a  plurality  of  persons.  The  words  Sir,  Mr.  and  Master,  in 
our  language,  are  all  of  the  same  inij)ort,  the  first  being  derived 
from  the  French  (sicur,  i.  v.  master  or  sire)  and  the  second  be- 
ing merely  a  contraction  of  muster;  and  thus  the  prohibition 
of  our  Lord  applies  verbatim  et  literatim,  to  each  of  these 
terms  :  **  Be  ye  not  called  Rabbi.'' 

But  this  is  not  the  only  place  where  these  vain  customs  and 
fashions  of  the  world  arc  declared  to  be  in  opposition  to  the 
Christian  character.  Our  Saviour  and  his  Apostles  every 
where,  both  by  precept  and  example,  plainly  testify  against 
them  J  and  for  this  obvious  reason,  that  they  not  only  tend  to 
inflate  and  exalt  the  creature,  but  are  replete  witii  hvpocrisy 
and  falsehood.  Thus,  how  often  are  the  honours  of  the  tongue 
and  the  hat  rendered  by  those,  whose  hearts  are,  at  the  same 
moment  rankling  with  envy,  or  malice,  or  hatred  towards  the 
persons  whom  they  thus  address !  How  frequently  do  we  hear 
such  salutations  as  these:  <♦  I  am  your  humble  servant" — '•  Your 
most  obedient,"  6cc.  &c.,  when  the  authors  of  such  declarations, 
would  even  refuse  to  perform  a  common  act  of  civility,  much 
less  stoop  to  do  a  servile  office.  "  Thus,"  says  the  Psalmist, 
<*  they  speak  vanity  every  (me  with  his  neighbour;  with  flat- 
tering lips,  and  a  double  heart  do  they  speak.'*  **  Take  heed 
hereafter,"  said  the  Bishop  Paulinus,  to  Sulpitius  Severus, 
"  how  thou,  being  from  a  servant,  called  into  liberty,  dost  sub- 
scribe thyself  servant  to  one,  who  is  thy  brother  and  fellow 
servant ;  for  it  is  a  sinful  flattery,  not  a  testimony  of  humility^ 
to  pay  those  honours  to  a  man  and  a  sinner,  which  arc  due  to 
the  one  God,  one  Master,  and  one  Lord." 

How  often  are  the  titles  of  excellency,  grace,  honour,  &c.  &e. 
applied  to  men  who  are  worthless,  graceless,  base  and  ignoble  ! 
Certainly  if  the  example  of  Elibu,  «  let  me  not,  I  pray  you, 
accept  any  man's  person,  neither  let  me  give  flattering  titles 
unto  man,  for  I  know  not  to  give  flattering  titles  j  in  so 
doing  my  Maker  would  soon  take  me  away;"  and  the  injunc- 
tion of  the  Apostle,  "  to  be  holy  in  all  manner  of  conversation  ;'* 
with  the  declaration,  that  <♦  for  every  idle  word  that  men  speak, 
they  shall  be  brought  to  judgment,"  were  suff*ered  to  have  their 
due  weight,  such  "  lying  vanities"  would  not  be  heard  from 
the  lips  of  Christians.  '«  How  can  such  believe,  who  thus  re» 
ceivc  honour  of  men,  and  seek  not  that  honour  which  cometh 
from  God  only  ?" 

It  is  a  very  common  apology  for  the  use  of  vain  titles,  and 
fashionable  modes  of  salutation,  to  say,  that  they  have  ceased  to 
fosttr  pride  and  vanity  f  and  are  neither  given  nor  received  in  that 

» 


sense.  An  excellent  reason  this  for  the  omissiun  of  them^ 
seeing  they  are  '*  idle  words,^^  and  destitute  of  meaning.  But 
this  specious  reason  only  evinces  the  trutli  of  the  Scripture 
declaration,  that  "  the  heart  of  man  is  deceitful  above  all 
things,  and  desperately  wicked.**  By  the  force  of  habit,  men 
become  less  and  less  conscious  of  tlie  effect  of  those  vain  and 
servile  compliments  ;  and  it  is  not  until  they  are  aftsfracfed,  that 
they  are  made  sensible  of  the  place  which  they  have  had  in  their 
esteem.  The  same  argument  was  advanced  in  the  days  of  Fox, 
and  his  brethren,  but  no  sooner  were  these  blandishments  with- 
held, than  a  violent  persecution  succeeded,  and  personal  abuse, 
bonds,  and  imprisonment,  were,  on  this  account  merely,  often 
bestowed  by  the  priesthood  and  magistracy,  on  those  unresist- 
ing sufferers,  for  thus  following  the  precepts  and  examples  of 
our  Lord  and  his  Apostles. 

We  sometimes  hear  even  Scripture  authority  advanced  to 
justify  the  use  of  complimentary  epithets.  A  brief  examina- 
tion will  show  how  slender  the  support  is,  that  is  drawn  from 
this  quarter.  The  Hebrew  word  'anx,  used  by  the  sons  of  Jacob 
in  Genesis  xliii.  20,  and  translated  sir,  is  the  same  word  which 
is  rendered  lord  in  other  places.  It  is  derived  from  n,  which 
means  to  rule,  to  judge,  to  direct ;  and,  in  this  place,  being 
applied  to  the  steward  of  Joseph's  house,  who  was,  in  fact,  a 
ruler,  or  director,  cannot  be  considered  as  used  out  of  mere 
flattery,  any  more  than  the  use  of  the  word  governor,  applied 
by  us  to  the  chief  magistrate  of  a  state. 

In  the  New  Testament  the  Greek,  word  Kvpin  is  translated 
iir  in  about  a  dozen  places ;  but  in  other  places  lord.  It  is 
derived  from  Kvpot,  i.  e.  a^ithorityf  and  is  applied  t(»  those  in 
power,  or  in  the  exercise  of  some  kind  of  authority,  as  the 
word  imports,  and  not  through  mere  ceremony,  or  flattery. 
Thus  the  servants  address  their  master,  Matt.  xiii.  27 ;  and 
the  son  his  father,  Matt.  xxi.  30  :  the  Scribes  also  use  it 
to  Pilate,  Matt,  xxvii.  63 ;  and  our  Saviour  is  addressed  in 
like  manner  by  the  woman  of  Samaria,  the  nobleman,  and  the 
impotent  man  ;  doubtless  from  a  sense  which  they  all  had  of 
his  exalted  character. 

The  word  sirs  is  found  in  several  places  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment ;  but  in  every  case  except  one,  violence  is  done  to  the  text, 
the  word  in  the  original  being  Av^fa,  the  plural  of  Anq,  the 
common  Greek  word  for  a  man.  Thus  in  Acts  vii.  26,  it  is 
literally  translated  «  men,  ye  are  brethren,"  &c.  The  same 
remark  applies  to  Acts  xiv.  lb,  and  xix.  25,  and  xxvii.  10.  In 
one  place  only  is  the  word  Kvptot,  i.  e.  sirs  or  masters,  found  ; 
and  that  is  when  the  affrighted  jailor^  addressing  the  Apostles, 


139 

exclaims:  *'  sirs,  what  shall  I  do  to  be  saved  !"  The  circum- 
stances of  this  case  were  well  calculated  to  inspire  the  jailor 
with  an  exalted  irfmof  those  whom  he  thus  addressed.  Neither 
bars  nor  I)ults  could  confine  them  !  They  were  literally  liis 
masters. 

Thus  we  do  not  find  in  the  Scripture,  an  instance  of  the  use 
of  the  ceremonious  word  yoii,  to  a  single  person,  nor  that  of  Mr. 
or  Sir,  as  a  mere  complimentary  epithet.  Much  less  do  we  find 
our  Lord's  discii)les  or  apostles  attaching  to  their  names  the 
titles  oi  reverend,  right  reverend,  &c.  Can  any  other  reasons 
be  assigned  on  the  part  of  your  clergy,  for  adhering  to,  and 
claiming  these  titles,  than  that  of  procuring  to  tliemselves  ho- 
nour and  distinction  from  their  fellow  worms  ?  Do  they  not  be- 
tray a  manifest  discrepancy  in  holding  forth  the  Scriptures  to 
the  world  as  **  the  onltj  rule  oj faith  and  practice,''^  whilst  them- 
selves are  violating  its  plainest  precejits  ?  <«  Be  ye  not  called 
Rabbi  :" — *'  How  can  ye  believe,  which  receive  honour  one  of 
another,  and  seek  not  the  honour  which  cometh  from  God  only?" 
I  should  be  glad  to  discover  any  other  reason  for  thus  affixing 
titles  to  their  names,  and  wearin-g  a  garb  of  a  'particular  colour, 
than  a  love  of  that  kind  of  distinction  which  harmonizes  with 
the  spirit  of  the  world.  I  should  rejoice,  could  I  believe  that 
these  practices  did  not  constitute  the  rabbinical  salutations,  and 
the  **  long  pobes,"  and  the  **  broad  phylacteries"  of  our  own 
times  ;  and  that  those  who  are  clothed  with  the  linen  ephod  in 
the  visible  church,  were,  generally,  endowed  with  a  degree  of 
humility  suited  to  their  functions,  and  that  they  could,  in  truth, 
say  to  their  flocks,  "  come  and  learn  of  us,  for  we  are  meek  and 
low  of  heart  !"* 

•  Among^  the  various  means  used  ia  modem  times  to  promote  the  views  of 
a.  hireling',  mercenary  priesthood,  the  religions  newspapers  (so  called)  are  not 
the  least  conspicuous.  In  evidence  of  this,  I  quote  the  following,  by  "  Philo," 
a  writer  in  the  Christian  Repository.  This  modern  Demetrius  says,  that  God 
requires  of  us  one-tenth  of  all  we  possess,  to  be  g-lven  to  the  clergy.  "  Why,'' 
he  asks,  "ought  we  to  provide  a  maintenance  for  the  clergy?" — "It  is," 
answers  he,  "  necessary  that  their  maintenance  should  bear  some  proportion 
to  the  dignity  of  their  character,  who  are  amba»aadora  for  Christ,  and  should 
raise  them  above  the  contempt  of  those  who  are  too  apt  to  be  influenced  by 
outward  appearances :"  (i.  e.  to  judge  according  to  our  Saviour''s  rule,  by  fruits.) 
"  And,  in  fine,"  continues  Phllo,  '*  their  maintenance  should  be  honourable 
and  plentiful,  that  by  tids  Tnea?!*  they  may  be  better  enabled  not  only  to  provide 
for  their  own  families,  -which  ia  a  duty  incximbent  upon  them  as  the  rest  of  mankind ; 
[very  good,  why  do  they  not  do  it  ?]  but  to  be  examples  to  their  flocks  In  hos- 
pitality,  beneficence,  and  f  corf  loorks  /" — "  All  nations  have  agreed  in  this" — 
"In  all  countries  the  priests  en]oye  A  great  marks  of  pre-eminence  axvd  power  " 

These  papers  are  also  used  as  heralds  to  proclaim  'lonations  to  the  clergy,  in 
order  that  others  may  be  induced,  by  the  vain  and  unjustifiable  hope  .of  harinff 
their  namea  publishert,  «'  to  come  forward  and  do  likewise." 


140 

We  have  nothing  of  the  right  reverend  Paul,  nor  of  the 
reverend  Peter,  D.  D.  They  soared  ahove  those  carnal  dis- 
tinctions ;  they  had  no  occasion  to  resort,  like  your  modern 
clergy,  to  artificial  means,  to  surround  their  names  ^with  a 
halo  of  false  glory,  whilst  the  beams  of  the  gospel  virtues  shed 
upon  them  a  genuine,  never-fading  lustre !  ! 

How  striking  is  the  fact,  that  although  every  kind  and  cast 
of  human  character  are,  in  the  sacred  writings,  repeatedly 
brought  before  us  on  the  stage  of  action,  yet  so  parsimonious 
and  rare  is  the  use  of  flattering  titles !  Had  such  a  book  been 
compiled  by  our  modern  clergy,  how  would  it  have  abounded 
witli  titidar  honours^  bestowed  on  miserable  sinners,  from  the 
awful  names  of  holiness,  and  sacred  majesty,  right  reverend, 
and  reverend,  down  to  the  more  plebian  compliments  of  Mr. 
and  Madam,  and  Sir  !  !  It  is  thus  that  man,  by  yielding  to  the 
propensities  of  his  fallen  nature,  and  conscious  of  wanting  those 
solid  qualities,  the  Christian  virtues,  which  would  confer  a  me- 
rited distinction,  seeks  to  obtain  that  distinction,  by  grasping 
at  honours  which  are  vain  and  perishable  ;  and  hence  misses  of 
that  honour  which  alone  has  in  it  an  enduring  substance,  and 
<<  Cometh  from  God  only.'* 

2.  OF  WORSHIP. 

One  of  the  charges  brought  against  the  Quakers  by  your  minister ,  ts, 
that  they  "  hold  too  many  silent  meetings,  and  neglect  preaching, 
praying,"  <§*c.     Vid.  Chr.  Repos.  vol.  i.  No.  42. 

It  is  not  my  design  to  enter  into  a  defence,  or  to  prove  the 
reasonableness  of  silent  worships  but  I  may  briefly  remark,  tliat 
to  a  Being  who  is  every  where  present;  who  *' seeth  not  as 
man  sseth,  but  looketh  at  the  heart ;"  and  wlio  <*  knoweth  the 
thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart," — to  such  a  Being  the  Qua- 
kers believe  acceptable  worship  may  be,  and  often  is  performed 
both  in  an  individual  and  a  collective  capacity,  in  the  secret  of 
the  soul,  and  without  audible  sounds.  They,  therefore,  do  not 
go  to  their  religious  assemblies  with  sermons  or  prayers  pre- 
viously conceived  or  written  down,  lest  they  be  found  approach- 
ing God  with  the  lip  and  the  tongue  only,  whilst  the  heart  is 
far  from  him  ;  and  although  they  often  pass  the  time  of  their 
meeting  together  in  silence,  yet  they  cannot  be  said  to  neglect 
^reaching  or  praying. 

But  those  who  believe  that  vocal  preaching  and  vocal  prayer 
arc  essential  to  the  worship  of  God  ;  and  who  never  meet  to- 
gether for  that  purpose  without  some  person  appointed  to  per- 
form this  service ;  should  such,  whilst  judging  others  in  this 


matter,  be  found  in  the  omission  thereof  themselves,  they  mar 
be  truly  charged  witii  neglect,  (for  it  is  "  aceording  to  thy  faith 
be  it  unto  thee")  and  may  be  numbered  amongst  tlmse  to  whom 
thefollowingrebukeof  the  Apostle  is  applicable:  "Andthinkest 
thou  this,  O  man,  that  judgest  them  which  do  such  things,  and 
doest  the  same,  that  thou  shalt  escape  the  judgment  of  God  ?" 
The  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  John  Seward,  of  Ohio, 
found  in  the  Christian  Repository,  vol.  i.  No.  3,  furnishes  some 
reason,  to  fear  that  your  minister  may  be  of  that  number  whom 
the  Apostle  addresses  in  tlic  foregoing  quotation  : 

«  That  you  may  have  some  view  of  the  necessity  of  mission 
labours  among  us,  I  will  state,  that  witiiin  the  bounds  of  this 
preshjttry,  there  are  no  less  than  thirty-three  churches,  and  but 
eight  ministers,  or  twenty-five  churclies  witliout  a  ministt  r.  In 
Median  county  are  seven  churches  and  no  minister :  in  Huron 
county  are  eight  churches  and  no  minister:  in  Cuyahoga  coun- 
ty are  four  churches  and  one  minister.  B(^sides  the  destitute, 
churches  that  have  been  mentioned,  there  are  many  towns 
where  are  no  churches,  but  many  inhabitants,  who  must  receive 
attention  from  missionaries,  or  they  will  soon  sink  into  a  state  of 
heathenism  / .'" 

In  addition  td  the  above,  give  me  leave  to  add  a.  quotation 
from  the  ministers  of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  found  in  the 
Christian  Repository,  vol  i.  p.  138  :  ? 

Synod  complains  of  «  a  dull  and  formal  observance  of  divine 
ordinances  ;  and  indifference  upon  the  great  subjects  of  Chris- 
tian experience  and  vital  godliness  ;  a  shameful  backwardness 
in  many  of  the  elders,  and  professing  members  of  the  church,  to 
engage  in  social  prayer  ;  an  opposition  to  meetings  for  prayer, 
by  others,  both  members  and  officers  of  the  churcli ;  a  neglect 
of  the  duty  of  family  worship  ;  a  careless  walk  and  conversa- 
tion, and  the  want  of  zeal  for  the  honour  and  glory  of  the 
Saviour,  of  love  for  the  souls  of  men,  and  of  an  heart-felt  con- 
cern for  the  salvation  of  sinners,  in  not  a  few  of  such  as  have 
professed  to  serve  God." 

This  is  a  humiliating  picture.  Twenty-five  churches  in  one 
preshijtcry  without  a  minister;  and  many  towns  without  churches, 
and  the  people  on  the  verge  of  heathenism  j  and  in  another 
preshjtery,  not  only  professing  members,  but  "  elders  and  offi- 
cers of  the  church  opposing  prayer  andfamily  worship  /"  Yet  it 
is  into  such  hands  that  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  are 
delivered,  ♦'  by  virtue  of  which  they  have  power  to  retain  and 
remit  sins,  to  shut  that  kingdom  against  tl>e  impenitent,  and  to 
open  it  to  penitent  sinners  !  \" 

In  the  Christian  Repository,  vol.  i.  No.  3S,  we  find  your  mi 
iiister  lamenting  over  the  poor  (Quakers  in  the  following  strain 


14»2 

««  My  soul  weeps  over  tlie  souls  you  are  raining  by  keeping 
them  in  ignorance  of  tlie  only  true  God,  and  the  salvation  of 
Christ !"  I  think  you  will  join  with  me  in  the  wish,  that  ybur 
minister  may  not  exhaust  all  his  tears  on  incurable  «  heretics," 
whilst  those  of  his  own  household,  who  are  almost  **  sinking 
into  a  state  of  heathenism,"  have  so  just  a  claim  to  participate 
in  his  tender  sympathies  ! 

But  if  such  be  the  state  of  your  elders  and  officers,  what  must 
be  the  condition  of  the  body  !  If  the  heart  be  thus  fainU  how  is 
the  vital  fluid  to  circulate  to  the  extreme  parts  ?  Is  there  not  a 
strange  inconsistency  in  going  several  thousand  miles  to  con- 
vert the  heathen,  whilst  there  are  so  many  of  your  own  mem- 
bers at  home,  destitute  of  spiritual  guides,  and  on  the  eve  of 
sinking  into  a  state  of  heathenism  ? 

The  erroneous  foundation  on  which  your  system  is  built,  is 
very  fully  illustrated  by  the  foregoing  statements.  Here  are 
?io  less  than  twenty -five  congregations  within  the  bounds  of  one 
presbytery,  who  have  abandoned  the  public  worship  of  God, 
until  priests  can  be  manufactured  for  them,  or  until  they  be- 
come rich  enough  to  make  a  call  that  will  reach  to  Princeton  or 
Jindover  ! 

Truly,  your  condition  is  worse  than  that  of  the  Jews  under 
the  law  :  "JVowfor  a  long  season  Israel  hath  been  without  the  true 
God,  and  without  a  teaching  priest,  and  without  law :  But 
when  thetj  in  their  trouble  did  turn  unto  the  Lord  God  of  Israel 
and  sought  him,  he  was  found  of  them."    2  Chron.  xv.  3,  4,  5. 

Now  **  wherefore  stand  ye  all  the  day  idle?"  and  why  do  ye 
cry,  i* give  us  ministers  or  we  die .'"  Why  not  in  your  trouble 
turn  unto  the  Lord  and  seek  him  as  the  Jews  did  ?  He  was  Urns 
found  of  them,  and  is  not  *<  Ciirist  the  mediator  of  a  better  cove- 
nant, which  was  established  upon  better  promises  T''  and  unto 
those  who  turn  unto  him,  and  seek  him,  will  he  not  "  appear  the 
second  time  without  sin  unto  salvation  ?"  Why,  therefore,  not 
assemble  yourselves  together,  in  obedience  to  the  Apostolic  in- 
junction, and  "  offer  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  ac- 
ceptable unto  God,  which  is  your  reasonable  service?"  Is  it 
not  because  you  are  under  the  trammels  of  a  theological  system, 
contrived  by  men  "  who  preach  for  hire,  and  divine  for  money," 
and  are  «*  seeking  their  gains  from  their  quarter :" — Men  who 
hold  a  rod  over  you,  and  have  drilled  you  into  the  belief,  that 
you  cannot  worship  God  without  them  ;  and  that  any  one  among 
you  who  shall  attempt  to  preach  or  pray  in  your  assemblies, 
that  has  not  learned  Latin  and  Greek,  and  received  his  com- 
mission, "  like  an  electric  spark,"  through  their  finger  ends, 
shall  be  denounced  as  "  afanatiCf  and  a  disturber  of  the  church 
of  Christ  /" 


143 

3.  THE  SABBATH. 

In  your  Confession  of  Faith,  chapter  xxi.  7,  we  are  told  that 
tlie  fourtli  commandment  is  perpetually  binding  upon  all  men  in 
all  ages.  Where  your  theologians  have  found  data  for  this  asser- 
tion, I  am  at  a  loss  to  discover ;  certainly  not  in  the  Bible,  as 
I  shall  proceed  to  show. 

1 .  The  command  to  observe  a  Sabbath  is  met  with  no  where  but 
in  the  law  oj  Moses ,  and  this  command  was  limitted  to  the  Jews : 
<«  Wherefore  the  children  oj Israel  shall  keep  the  Sabbath,  to  ob- 
serve the  Sabbath  throughout  their  generations,  for  a  perpetual 
covenant.    It  is  a  sign  between  me  and  the  children  of  Israel 

forever.'*    Exod.  xxxi.  16,  17. 

Here  the  children  of  Israel  are  expressly  mentioned,  and  they 
only.  There  is  no  evidence  on  record,  that  the  keeping  of  a 
Sabbath  was  ever  enjoined  upon  any  other  nation  or  people. 

2.  This  institution  ended  with  the  Jewish  polity j  there  is  neither 
precept  nor  command  in  the  JVew  Testament,  making  the  obser- 
vance of  a  Sabbath  obligatory  under  tJie  Christian  dispensation. 

For  proof  of  this  I  need  only  refer  to  the  book  itself.  It  is 
never  once  mentioned,  neither  by  Christ,  nor  his  Apostles ;  and 
the  only  testimony  brought  forward  to  support  it,  is  barely  pre- 
sumptive.    Thus  it  is  said  : 

1.  That  Christ  appeared  to  his  disciples,  after  his  resurrec- 
tion on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and  this  circumstance  consti- 
tuted it  a  Sabbath.  Now  what  connection  is  there  between 
our  Lord's  thus  appearing,  and  the  institution  of  a  Sabbath  ? 
Or  ought  this  event  to  be  deemed  tantamount  to  instituting  the 
first  day  as  one  to  be  forever  kept  holy  unto  the  Lord,  without 
a  word  being  said  by  Christ  on  the  subject?  But  our  Saviour 
appeared  but  once  on  this  day,  and  that  to  two  of  his  disciples 
only,  as  they  journeyed  to  Emmaus.  On  the  evening  of  that 
day  he  did  appear  to  the  eleven  ;  but,  according  to  the  Jewish 
division  of  time,  this  was  the  beginning  of  the  second  day  of  the 
week.  Eight  days  after  this  he  appeared  again,  i.  e.  on  the 
third  day  of  the  week  ;  and  thus,  if  our  Lord's  appearance  is 
to  constitute  a  holy  day,  or  Sabbath,  there  are  at  least  three 
which  have  an  equal  claim  to  that  pre-eminence ! 

2.  That  the  disciples  were  used  to  meet  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week.  The  resorting  to  such  feeble^rguments  to  support  this 
institution,  demonstrates  the  sandy  foundation  on  which  it 
stands.  There  are  several  religious  societies  at  this  time, 
who  meet  together  on  certain  fixed  days  of  the  week,  for  the 
purpose  of  worship,  or  discipline  ;  and  would  it  not  be  very  un- 
warrantable for  those  who  may  be  speculating  some  thousand 


years  hence  on  these  proceedings,  to  draw  the  conclusion,  that 
these  days  had  been  kept  as  Sabbaths? 

3.  The  text  in  Revelation  i.  10,  is  quoted  in  confirmation  of 
a  Christian  Sabbath  :  "I  was  in  the  spirit  on  the  Lord's  day." 
This  is  taken  for  the^rs^  day  of  tlie  week  j  but  the  assumption 
is  gratuitous,  for,  no  where  in  the  Bible  is  the  first  day  of  the 
week  called  the  Lord's  day.  In  many  places  we  read  in  Scrip- 
ture concerning  "  the  day  of  the  Lord"  yet  who  believes  that 
there  is  in  these  passages,  any  reference  to  a  particular  day  of 
the  week  ?  But  is  not  every  day  the  Lord's  ?  And  if  the  first  day 
of  the  w  eek  only  is  his,  to  whom  do  the  other  six  belong,  or 
where  is  the  difference  between  the  day  of  the  Lord,  and  the 
Lord's  day  ? 

So  much  on  substituting  the  first  day  for  the  seventh,  and 
observing  it  as  a  Jewish  Sabbath.  I  shall  now  proceed  to  show 
that  neither  this  day,  nor  any  other  day,  was  kept  by  the 
Apostles  nor  primitive  Christians,  as  a  holy  day,  or  Sabbath, 
This  appears  : 

1.  From  the^ew  Testament  giving  neither  precept  nor  command 
so  to  do. 

2.  From  Paul  in  Colossians  ii.  16 — <*  Let  no  man,  therefore 
judge  you  in  meat  or  in  drink,  or  in  respect  of  an  holy  day,  or 
of  the  new  moon,  or  of  the  Sabbath  days,  which  are  a  shadoxv  of 
things  to  come." 

Here  it  is  very  manifest  that  the  Apostle  places  tiie  Jewish 
Sabbath  on  the  same  footing  with  «  meats  and  drinks  and  new 
moons,"  and  which  had  passed  away  with  the  Jewish  state* 
and  dispensation,  and  were  no  longer  obligatory  upon  Chris- 
tians. He  declares  it  to  be  a  mere  shadoxv^  which  he  wonld  not 
have  done  had  he  believed  the  observance  of  it  to  have  been 
*<  perpetually  binding,"^  In  short,  as  the  Jewish  rite  of  circum- 
cision, was  a  type  of  the  inward  and  spiritual  circumcision  of 
the  heart,  and  as  the  outward  washings  and  eleansings  were 
types  or  figures,  of  the  inward  and  spiritual  cleansing  of  the 
soul  ;  so  was  the  Sabbath,  or  rest  of  the  outward  body,  a 
shadoyv  or  type  of  that  inward  and  spi."itual  rest  and  {)eace 
realized.by  the  believer,  in  and  through  Christ  Jesus — "  Koi 
he  that  is  entered  into  his  rest,  he  also  hath  ceased  from  his  own 
works,  as  God  did  from^is — let  us  labour  therefore  to  enter 
into  that  rest."  Heb.  iii.  10,  (see  the  whole  of  the  iii.  and  iv. 
chapters  to  the  Hebrews.) 

3.  From  the  testimony  of  Justin  Martyr.  This  distinguished 
CJiristian,  and  author,  wrote  about  the  year  150.  In  a  work 
of  his,  written  in  defence  of  Christianity,  in  the  form  of  a  dia- 
logue between  himself  and  Trypho,  a  learned  Jew,  tlie  latter 


115 

offers  the  following  objection  :  "  The  Cliristians,  though  they 
boast  of  the  truth  of  their  religion,  and  wish  to  excel  all  other 
people,  differ  in  nothing  from  the  heatiien  in  their  manner  of  liv- 
ing, because  they  neither  observe  the  Sabbath,  nor  circumcision." 
This  language,  put  into  tlie  mouth  of  the  Jew  by  Justin, 
proves  that  the  Christians  of  that  time  did  not  observe  the  Sab- 
bath.    If  it  be  said  that  the  objection  on  the  part  of  the  Jew 
arose  from  the  Christians  kee])ing  the  first  day  as  a  Sabbath 
and  not  the  seventh,  I  answer  :  the  ternui  of  Justin's  reply  set- 
tles this  point  also — »«  There  is,*'  says  he,  *'  another  kind  of  cir- 
cumcision, and  you  think  higliJy  of  that  of  the  Jlesh.     The  law 
will  have  you  keep  ?>.  jierpetual  Sabbath,  and  you,  when  you  have 
spent  one  day  in  idleness,  think  you  are  religious,  not  knowing 
why  it  was  commanded."     (^JYoiv  had  the  Christians  been  accns-  _ 
tomed  to  spend  thejirst  day  in  "  idleness,*''  there  would  have  been 
a  ridiculous  inconsistency  in  such  a  reply,)   "  As  therefore,"  con- 
tinues he,  "•  circumcision  began  from  Abraham,  and  Sabbath, 
and  sacrifice,    and  oblation  from   Moses,  wllich,  it  has  been 
shewn,  were  ordained  on  account  of  your  nation's  hardness  of 
heart;  so,  according  to  the  counsel  of  the  Fathers,  they  were 
to  end  in  Jesus  Christ  the  son  of  God.** — "  Do  you  not  see  that  the 
elements  are  never  idle,  nor  keep  a  Sabbath  ?  Continue  as  you 
were  created  ;  for  if  there  was  no  need  of  circumcision  before 
Abraham,  nor  of  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  and  festivals, 
and  oblations,  before  Moses,  neither  now  is  there  likewise  after 
Christ." 

Now  is  it  possible  that  the  Christians  could,  in  that  age, 
have  kept  a  Sabbath,  and  Justin  not  know  it  ?  Is  it  possible 
that  the  Apostles  and  Christians  before  Justin's  time,  could 
have  kept  a  Sabbath,  and  the  knowledge  of  it  be  lost  to  this 
learned  and  inquiring  writer,  within  fifty  years  after  the  death 
of  the  last  of  the  Apostles  ?  Every  one  will  answer  no  !  The 
testimony  of  this  author,  therefore,  proves,  that  a  Sabbath  was 
not  kept  by  the  Christians  of  his  time,  neither  by  those  who  pre- 
ceded  them. 

When  and  how,  then,  did  the  practice  of  observing  a  Sabbath 
arise  among  Christians  ?  I  answer,  from  the  following  decree 
of  the  Roman  emperor  Constantine,  made  in  the  third  century: 
"  Let  all  judges  and  town  people,  and  the  occupations  of  all 
trades  rest  on  the  venerable  day  of  the  sun.  (Die  Solis.)  But 
let  those  who  are  situated  in  the  country,  freely,  and  at  full 
liberty,  attend  to  the  business  of  agriculture,  because  it  often 
happens  that  no  other  day  is  so  fit  for  sowing  corn  and  planting 
vines,  lest  the  critical  moment  being  let  slip,  men  should  lose 
the  commodities  granted  them  by  the  providence  of  heaven." 


Now  this  decree  shows,  that  the  general  observance  of  a  Sab- 
bath, or  *«  day  of  idleness,"  did  not  then  exist,  otherwise  there 
would  have  been  no  reason  for  its  enactment — that  the  excep- 
tion contained  in  it  with  respect  to  agriculturalists,  stamps  it  with 
a  character  very  different  from  the  Jewish  Sabbath — that  the 
institution  grew  out  of  a  union  of  church  and  state  ;  and  lastly — 
that  the  choice  of  the^rsf  day  of  the  week^  arose  from  the  hea- 
then practice  of  worshipping  the  sun  on  that  day  ; — the  newly 
converted  emperor,  thus  engrafting  a  Gentile  custom  upon  the 
Christian  system,  from  the  habitual  regard  which  he  had  been 
accustomed  to  entertain  for  the  '<  venerable  day  of  the  suw/" 

From  what  has  been  said,  I  believe  the  impartial  reader  will 
readily  perceive,  that  the  declaration  quoted  from  your  Confes- 
sion of  Faith,  like  many  other  things  contained  in  that  absurd 
.production,  has  nothing  to  support  it,  but  the  ipse  dixit  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly. 

With  respect  to  the  moral  necessity  or  expediency  of  setting 
apart  one  day  in  seven  as  a  day  of  rest,  and  to  afford  an  oppor- 
tunity to  worship  the  God  of  our  lives  and  our  every  blessing, 
this  is  another,  and  a  very  distinct  question.  Not  one  day  in  seven 
only,  but  every  day  and  hour  of  our  lives,  is  equally  the  Lord*s ; 
and  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Christian  to  endeavour  to  keep  every 
day  holy  unto  the  Lord  ;  and  to  meet  at  stated  periods  for  the 
purpose  of  public  worship,  and  present  his  body  a  living  sacri- 
fice, holy,  acceptable  unto  God,  which  is  his  reasonable  service. 

The  experiment  of  attempting  by  civil  laws,  to  coerce  men 
into  religion,  has  been  sufficiently  tried  ;  it  may  make,  and  has 
made  many  hypocrites,  but  as  to  making  men  better  citizens,  or 
better  Christians,  it  is  alike  contrary  to  sound  reason,  and  all 
experience.  All  the  governments  in  Christendom  have  adopted 
the  precedent  furnished  by  the  decree  of  Constantine  ;  and  thus, 
(to  use  the  words  of  Justin)  "  a  day  of  idleness"  is  created  every 
where,  and  as  idleness  is  commonly  the  parent  of  vice,  there  is 
more  folly  and  wickedness  committed  on  that  day,  than  on  any 
other  day  in  the  week. 

Your  minister,  in  his  address  to  the  Quakers,  in  the  Reposi- 
tory, says  :  «  the  Sabbath  you  lay  aside."  Now,  in  practice, 
the  Quakers  as  a  body,  are,  I  believe,  as  exemplary  in  abstain- 
ing from  their  secular  employments,  and  in  meeting  for  public 
worship,  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  as  other  Christian  sects  : 
and  they  disown  such  of  their  members  as  persist  in  the  neglect 
of  attending  their  religious  meetings.  But  how  does  this  mat- 
ter stand  with  this  accuser  and  his  brethren  ?  You  profess  to 
believe  that  the  Sabbath,  as  kept  by  the  Jews,  is  binding 
upon  you :  do  you  keep  it  as  did  that  people  ?   By  no  means. 


147 

You  do  not  keep  it  at  all ! !  You  have  substituted  another  day, 
and  that  without  any»good  or  sufficient  reason.  Neither  do  you 
keep  this  day  as  the  Jews  were  commanded  to  keep  their's  ; 
*<  In  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy 
dauj^hter,  thy  man-servant,  nor  thy  maid-servant,  nor  thy  cat- 
tle.*' Do  you  keep  your  Sabbath  on  this  wise  ?  Certainly  not. 
Amonj^st  the  numerous  cases  wherein  it  is  liabitually  infringed, 
there  is  one  wluch  stands  conspicuous  :  so  much  so,  that  it  has 
opened  the  mouth,  even  of  a  heathen,  against  you.  I  will  give 
it  in  his  own  words.  «  It  is  not  Jehovah,"  said  the  the  Indian 
Chief  to  a  Missionary,  «  but  gold  tliat  is  the  Christian's  god. 
They  cannot  worship  in  their  temples  without  passing  about 
the  money-chargers,  and  collecting  the  coin,  even  on  their  hoiy 
SABBATH  DAY.  Mammon,  instead  of  Christ,  is  their  master. 
Go  and  cleanse  your  own  temples  of  these  pollutions,  and  get  your 
mission  from  on  high,  and  return  to  us,  and  we  will  hear  you  .'" 

You  may  object,  perhaps,  that  this  testimony  against  you 
does  not  come  from  an  orthodox  quarter  :  I  will  therefore  pre- 
sent you  with  another,  from  a  source  which  you  ought  not  to 
call  in  question.  It  is  found  in  the  Christian  Repository,  vol. 
i.  No.  34,  and  is  taken  from  the  minutes  of  the  Synod  of  PhilU' 
delphia*     It  is  as  follows  : 

«  Synod  deeply  and  sincerely  laments  in  7na7it/ of  their  churches 
a  sad  laxity  of  discipline,  and  that  in  many  places,  the  vices  of 
intemperance  and  Sabbath  breaking  do  notoriously  abound!!!** 

*'  Behold,  thou  restest  in  the  law,  and  makest  thy  boast  of  God; 
and  art  confidtnt  that  thou  thyself  art  a  guide  of  the  blind,  a  light 
of  them  whichlare  in  darkness  ;  thou,  therefore,  which  teachest 
another.,  teachest  not  thou  thyself?  Thou  that  makest  thy  boast  of 
the  law,  through  breaking  the  law  dishonourest  thou  God^*^  Rom, 
chap.  ii. 

i.  OF  OATHS. 

Your  Society  are  uniformly  in  the  practice  of  swearing,  or 
using  oaths  when  legally  required  ;  and  you  appear  to  believe, 
that  in  so  doing,  you  are  performing  a  Christian  duty,  an  ac- 
ceptable service  to  God  ;  for  in  your  Confession,  chap.  xxii. 
1,  we  are  told  that  *'  a  lawful  oath  is  a  part  of  religious  war' 
ship!"  I  shall  proceed  to  examine  the  foundation  on  which  this 
practice  rests. 

The  authority  for  the  use  of  oaths  among  Christians,  your 
theologians  deduce  from  the  laws  given  to  the  Jews,  and  the 
injunctions  found  in  the  Old  Testament  to  obey  them.  But 
Httle  reflection  is  wanting  to  perceive  the  futility  of  all  argu- 


148 

ments  drawn  from  this  quarter,  to  establish  the  validity  of 
Jewish  customs,  under  the  Christian  dispensation.  The  laws 
and  ordinances  given  to  the  Jews,  were  rto  doubt  well  adapted 
to  the  moral  state  of  that  people,  and  so  far  as  any  other  nation 
are  in  a  like  state,  just  so  far,  and  no  more,  are  those  laws  and 
ordinances  proper  for  such  a  people  to  adopt. 

The  Jews  were  in  an  outward,  carnal  state,  and  the  laws 
given  to  them  were,  in  a  corresponding  degree, outward  and  car- 
nal. *'  For  the  hardness  of  your  hearts,"  (the  lowness  of  your 
moral  state)  said  Christ  to  the  Jews,  in  allusion  to  divorcements, 
«  Moses  gave  you  this  precept;"  and  not,  therefore,  because 
the  precept  was  good  in  itself.  "  And  their  eyes,"  said  the 
prophet,  "  were  after  their  father's  idols,  wherefore  I  gave 
them  statutes  that  were  not  good."  Now  these  remarks  apply 
to  the  law  respecting  oaths  and  other  Jewish  ordinances.  The 
Jews  were  prone  to  idolatry ;  and  the  surrounding  nations  were 
idolutors,  and  swore  by  their  idols.  Therefore,  in  order 
to  draw  them  off  from  idols,  and  fix  their  attention  upon  the 
one  true  and  living  God,  it  was  ordained  that  they  should  swear 
by  him  alone.  "  Thou  shalt  fear  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  serve 
Mm,  and  shalt  swear  by  his  name,"  (not  by  that  of  an  idol.) 

To  infer,  therefore,  that  the  use  of  oaths  is  binding  on  Chris- 
tians, because  commanded  the  Jews,  and  that  it  constitutes  a 
part  of  Christian  worship,  is  neither  consistent  with  reason, 
nor  Scripture.  But  I  shall  now  show  that  oaths  are  distinctly 
abrogated  by  our  Saviour,  in  Mat.  v.  33  to  37. 

<*  Again  ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said  by  them  of  old 
time,  thou  shalt  notforswear  thyself,  but  shalt  perform  unto  the 
Lord  thine  oaths.  But  I  say  unto  you,  swear  not  at  all  ;  nei- 
ther by  heaven,  nor  by  the  earth,  &c.  but  let  your  communi- 
cation be  yea,  yea ;  nay,  nay,  for  whatsoever  is  more  than  these 
Cometh  of  evil.''* 

In  corroboration  of  the  above,  the  Apostle  James,  in  sl  general 
epistle" to  all  Christians,  says:  **  But  above  all  things,  my 
brethren,  swear  not,  neither  by  heaven,  neither  by  the  earth, 
neither  by  any  other  oath  :  but  let  your  yea,  be  yea  :  and  your 
nay,  nay ;  lest  ye  fall  into  condemnation. — v.  12. 

Here  the  abrogation  of  oaths  is  clear  and  unequivocal. — 
«  Swear  not  at  all ;  neither  by  heaven,  nor  by  the  earth  ;  nei- 
ther hy  any  other  oath.''*  Yet,  notwithstanding  the  plain  terms 
in  which  this  prohibition  is  couched,  your  theologians  teach 
that  an  **oath  is  a  part  of  religious  worship.''*  and  they  evade 
the  force  of  these  texts,  by  asserting  : 

1.  That  the  prohibition  relates  only  to  profane  or  unlawful 
swearing.    To  whi«h  I  answer,  that  ail  such  swearing  was 


149 

belbre  forbidden  under  the  law ;  but  here  Christ  prohibits 
somethin,^  that  had  been  permitted  **  in  old  time."  This 
appears  fully  by  the  context.  Thus  in  verse  38,  Christ  says  : 
«<  Ye  have  heard  that  it  hatb  been  said,  an  eye  for  an  eye,  and  a 
toothfor  a  tooth;  but  I  say  unto  you  that  yon  resist  not  evil."  Here 
the  law  in  Exodus  xxi.  24,  is  repealed,  and  in  language  and 
manner  like  the  abrogation  of  oaths  in  the  verses  immediately 
preceding.  Moreover,  the  word  forswear,  with  the  expression, 
<*  perform  unto  the  Lord  thine  oaths,"  apply  distinctly  to  formal, 
legal  oaths,  and  not  to  profane  swearing. 

2.  That  the  form  of  swearing  here  forbidden,  as  ♦'  hy  heaven, 
by  Jerusalem,"  Sfc.  was  not  the  judicial  oath  among  the  Jews, 
hence  not  included  in  the  prohibition.  It  is  true,  that  the  lawful 
oath  of  the  Jews  was  to  swear  by  the  name  of  God.  But  to 
forbid  swearing  by  heaven,  is  to  forbid  doing  it  by  God  also  ;  for 
our  Lord,  in  Matthew  xxiii.  22,  declares,  that  *<  he  that  shall 
swear  by  heaven,  sweareth  by  the  throne  of  God,  and  he  that 

SITTETH    THEREON." 

3.  That  to  swear  by  the  name  of  God  is  a  moral  precept  of  eternal 
duration,  because  joined  with  his  worship,  as  "  thou  shall  fear  the 
Lord  and  swear  by  his  name.^^  I  reply,  that  this  does  not  prove 
it  a  perpetual  ordinance  ;  for  the  expression,  «  thou  shalt  fear 
the  Lord,"  &c.  is  coupled  with  many  ordinances  universally 
acknowledged  to  be  repealed  :  thus  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  men- 
tioned along  with  his  statutes  in  Deut.  x.l2,  13  ;  and  with  the 
tythes,  in  xiv.  23,  &c. 

4.  That  oaths  commanded  by  the  Mmighty,  cannot  be  the  same 
that  are  forbidden  by  Christ,  who  says,  "  they  come  from  evil,*'* 
but  God  never  commanded  evil,"  Sfc.  To  which  I  answer,  many 
l)recepts  were  ordained  by  God  for  the  Jews,  which  were  good 
because  applicable  to  the  state  of  that  people,  yet  evil  for  Chris- 
tians, as  circumcision,  burnt  offerings,  &c.  Thus  Christ  him- 
self says :  '*  Moses  on  account  of  the  hardness  of  your  hearts, 
suffered  you  to  put  away  your  wives,  but  from  the  beginning 
it  was  not  so.  So  truth  was  before  oaths,  and  will  remain  when 
oaths  shall  be  done  away.  But  oaths  had  not  their  origin  from 
God,  but  from  the  father  of  lies,  and  were  invented  by  corrupt 
men  as  a  mutual  security  against  their  own  moral  depravity, 
in  which  they  called  on  the  names  of  their  idols ;  and  hence 
oaths  were  given  to  the  Israelites  to  withdraw  them  from  the- 
idolatrous  oaths  of  their  heathen  neighbours. 

5.  That  God  himself  swore  ;  therefore  it  is  right  for  man.  The 
immutability  of  God's  will  and  purpose,  was  announced  in  this 
manner,  to  a  people  whose  conceptions  were  in  a  high  degree 
outward  and  carnal.    It  is  impossible  to  believe  that  God  ever 


150 

•wore  after  the  manner  of  men  ;  it  being  the  property  of  an  oath 
to  swear  by  another. 

6.  That  Christ  swore,  and  Christians  should  follow  his  example. 
To  prove  this,  it  wouhl  be  necessary  to  show,  that  the  strong 

appeal  made  by  the  high  priest  to  Christ,  in  the  expression,  / 
adjure  thte,  &c.  was  a  tender  of  a  formal,  judicial  oath ;  and 
2d.  that  Christ  ioofe  it ;  but  neither  of  these  cases  can  be  made 
out.  Yet  had  Ciirist  sworn,  being  "  made  binder  the  law-,^^  it 
would  not  have  been  binding  on  those  under  the  gospel,  to  adopt 
the  example,  any  more  than  his  circumcision.  On  this  subject, 
Hierom  says  :  '<  All  things  agree  not  unto  us,  who  are  servants, 
that  agreed  unto  our  Lord,  &c.  The  Lord  swore  as  Lord, 
whom  no  man  did  forbid  to  swear,  but  unto  us  that  are  servants, 
it  is  not  lawful  to  swear,  because  we  are  forbidden  by  the  law 
of  ojir  Lord.  Yet  since  we  should  sufter  scandal  by  his  exam- 
ple, he  iiath  not  sworn,  since  he  commanded  us  not  to  swear." 

7.  That  Paul  swore,  and  that  often;  saying,  <»  for  God  is  my 
pecord  ;  I  call  God  for  a  record  on  my  soul,"  &^c. 

These  are  mere  solemn  attestations,  used  in  solemn  cases. 
Paul  was  not  before  legal  authority,  requiring  an  oath  of  him. 
nor  did  he  ever  administer  one.  In  these  expressions  of  the 
Apostle,  there  is  neither  the  form  nor  ceremony  of  a  judicial 
oath.  If  Paul  swore  at  all,  then,  he  must  have  swovn  jjr of anely, 
and  contrary  to  any  precept  in  the  law  !  Cut  it  is  not  what  Paul 
or  another  man  did,  but  what  our  Saviour  has  commanded,  that 
concerns  Christians. 

8.  That  Isaiah,  speaking  of  the  gospel  day,  saith :  "  that  he 
who  blcsseth  himself  in  the  earth,  shall  bless  himself  in  the 
God  of  truth,  and  he  thn.ts7Vtareth  in  the  earth,  shall  swear  by 
the  God  of  truth."     Therefore  we  ought  to  swear,  &c. 

To  this  I  reply,  that  the  prophet  wrote  as  a  Jew,  and  spoke 
of  Christian  duties  in  terms  of  the  law.  Thus  the  same  prophet 
says:  «  I  have«\vorn  by  myself,  that  unto  me  every  knee  shall 
bow,  and  every  tongue  shall  swear.''  But  the  Apostle  interprets 
this  passage  thus  :  *«  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  every  knee  shall 
bow  to  me,  and  every  tongue  confess  to  God.'* 

9.  That  the  Apostle  sanctions  oaths  when  he  says:  '<  For  men 
verily  swear  by  the  greater,  and  an  oath  for  confirmation  is  to 
them  an  end  of  all  strife."  Heb.  vi.  16.  But  contests,  Sfc. 
continue,  and  oaths  are  therefore  as  necessary  now  as  then. 
The  Apostle  here  only  states  what  litigious  men  (not  Chris- 
tians, were  in  the  practice  of,  and  not  what  they  ought  to  have 
done:  and  in  order  to  increase  the  confidence  of  his  brethren 
in  the  promises  of  God,  he  makes  this  allusion  :  but  it  amounts 
no  more  to  a  justification  of  oaths,  than  the  &jllowing  is  of  races: 


151 

"  know  ye  not  that  they  which  run  in  a  race,  run  alU  hut  ont 
ncdveth  the  pri%t  ?  Sonin  that  ye  may  obtain^  1  Cor.  ix.24. 
See  also  Luke  xiv.  31,  where  our  Saviour  tolls  what  a  prudent 
warrior  should  do  before  he  goes  to  war ;  yet  no  one  infers  that 
in  this,  he,  the  Prince  of  Peace,  was  instructing  his  discijjles  how 
to  fight ! 

10.  That  although  it  be  admitted,  that  the  simple  affirmation  of 
true  Christians,  ought  to  be  deemed  sufficient  without  an  oath  ,• 
yet  as  these  cannot  be  known,  therefore  oaths  are  still  necessary. 
I  answer,  that  as  oaths  had  their  origin  in  the  deceit  and  cor- 
ruption of  man,  and  not  in  the  purp  trutli,  nor  constituting  a 
part  of  divine  worship,  (as  falsely  asserted  by  your  theologi- 
ans) so  as  men  are  redeemed  out  of  this  stale  which  gave  rise 
to  oaths,  they  ought  in  obedience  to  the  command  of  Christ  to 
abandon  them,  without  regard  to  the  customs,  commands,  or 
pleasure  of  their  fellow  creatures.  But  the  practice  of  the,  pri- 
mitive Christians,  for  the  first  300  years,  is  a  sufficient  answer 
to  all  objections  against  the  abrogation  of  oaths.  They  well 
understood  their  Lord's  command,  and  when  required  to  swear, 
their  reply  was,  **  I  am  a  christian,  I  do  not  swear."* 

But  not  Christians  only,  but  many  wise  heathens  have  tes- 
tified against  the  use  of  oaths,  as  Solon,  Pythagoras,  Socrates, 
Isocrates, Plato,  &c.  who  had  these  sayings  :  "a  good  man  ought 
to  be  in  that  estimation,  that  he  need  not  an  oath." — "  Let 
no  man  call  God  to  witness  by  an  oath,  no  not  in  judgment, 
but  let  every  man  so  accustom  himself  to  speak,  tliat  he  may 
become  worthy  to  be  trusted  without  an  oath." — "  The  duty 
of  men  requires,  that  they  shew  to  the  world,  that  their  man- 
ners and  customs  are  more  firm  than  oaths,"  &c. 

11.  Another  argument  used  in  favour  of  oaths  is,  that  an 
oath  and  an  affirmation  are  essentially  the  same  ;f  that  they  are 
both  an  appeal  to  God,  and  differing  only  in  the  form,  and  hence 
that  there  is  no  more  objection  to  one  than  the  other  !  ! 

This  is  a  summary  way  of  getting  over  the  difficulty  :  it  is 
cutting  the  Gordian  knot.  But  how  any  one  could  embrace  such  an 

*  The  testimonies  to  this  fact  are  numerous  and  overwhelming.  See  Poly- 
carpus ;  Justin  Martyr's  Apolog.  2. — Tertullian  in  his  Apol.  cap.  32.  ad.  Scap. 
cap.  1.  of  idolatry,  cap.  11 — Clem.  Alexand.  Stromb.  lib.  7. — Origen  in  Mat. 
tract.  25 — Cj'perianus  lib.  3. — Athanasius,  in  pass,  and  cruc.  Domini  Christi — 
Helarius  in  Mat,  v.  34. — Basil.  Magor.  in  Psalm  14,  together  with  Ambrose, 
Chrysostom,  Hyeronimus,  Augustine,  Cyrill,  and  many  others. 

-|-  T-his  view  is  taken  by  Adam  Clarke  in  his  Commentary  on  the  6th  chapter 
of  Deuteronomy.  Vet,  on  our  Lord's  words  in  chap.  v.  of  Mathew,  "  Swear 
not  at  all,"  the  same  author  fuUy  admits  the  evil  tendency  of  oaths,  and  advises 
us  "  to  have  aa  little  to  do  -with  oaths  as  possible  "  But  if  an  oath  and  an  affirma- 
tion be  essentially  the  same,  why  give  BUCk  »  caiation  ?  H.'ire  I  think  this  writer 
IB  inconsistent  with  himselk 


152 

opinion,  and  confound  things  in  their  nature  so  distinct,  and  be- 
tween which  such  a  marked  difference  has  been  made  in  the 
practice  of  all  nations,  in  all  ages,  is  difficult  to  conceive.  An 
affirmation  is  simply  the  act  of  affirming  or  declaring  ;  but  an 
oath  is  "  an  affirmation,"  corroborated  hy  the  attestation  of  the 
divine  Being  ;  or  it  is  a  solemn  action,  whereby  God  is  called  to 
witness  the  truth  of  an  affirmation.  That  the  Quakers  hold  up 
their  hand  (as  a  certain  learned  writer  has  said)  when  they 
affirm,  is  a  great  mistake.  Such  an  action  would  appear  to 
€lothe  an  affirmation  with  more  solemnity,  but  how  it  can  trans- 
form it  into  an  oath,  or  change  it  into  an  **  appeal  to  God,"  is 
entirely  inexplicable. 

12.  It  is  objected  that  if  oaths  be  abolished^  fraud,  ^c.  ivillfoU 
low.  To  this  it  may  be  answered,  that  there  are  two  considera- 
tions which  bind  men  to  tell  the  truth ;  the  fear  of  God  and  the 
fear  of  man  ;  or  the  love  of  truth,  and  the  dread  of  the  law. 
Now  good  men  will  tell  the  truth  without  an  oath,  but  bad 
men  will  not  be  bound  by  an  oath  ;  the  fear  of  punishment  only 
influences  them.     If  then  the  same  (or  if  you  please  a  greater) 
punishment  were  annexed  to  the  violation  of  an  affirmation,  as 
to  that  of  an  oath,  every  purpose  of  an  oath  would  be  answered. 
But  what  is  the  result  of  experience  in  this  case  ?     Do  oaths 
exclude  or  prevent  fraud  and  falsehood  ?     Far  from  it.     Look 
over  Christendom — <*  Because  of  swearing  the  land  mourns  ;'* 
yea,  and  legal  swearing  too.    Yet  your  divines  tell  us  that  this 
*<  is  part  of  religious  worship  !  !'*    A  strange  kind  of  worship, 
that  the  more  common  it  becomes,  the  more  wickedness  in- 
creases.    The  frequency  of  oaths  makes  them  cheap  in  the 
minds  of  the  people.    A  custom-house  oath  is  proverbial  for 
its  perfidy.    But  we  need  not  go  to  the  seaboard  to  look  for 
perjury.     It  is  to  be  found  every  where ;  even  among  the 
sacred  order  I     The  Pope,  for  a  mitre ;  the  Cardinal,  for  a  hat ; 
the  Bishop,  for  a  diocese  ;  and  the  lower  clergy  for  their  liv- 
ings,* have  all  realized,  in  their  own  experience,  the  slender 
obligations  of  an  oath  I 

In  our  courts,  oaths,  instead  of  putting  **  an  end  to  strife," 
only  tend  to  increase  and  prolong  it.  Men  are  brought  for- 
ward to  swear  against  each  other,  and  thus  truth  is  concealed 
or  evaded,  rather  than  elicited.    Many  actions  are  instituted, 

•  When  the  Protestant  religion  was  re-established  in  England,  under  queen 
Elizabeth,  '*  of  the  great  body  of  English  clergy,  says  Tussel,  07i/i/  eighty  rectors 
and  vicars,  fifty  prebendaries,  fifteen  heads  of  colleges,  twelve  archdeacons, 
and  as  many  deans  sacrificed  their  livings  for  their  Theological  opinions."  In 
so  doing  these  ecclesiastics  denied  \}\e  doctrine  of  the  Pope's  supremacy,  which 
they  had  before  solemnly  pledged  themselves  to  maintain,  and  took  the  oath 
of  allegiance  and  supremacy. 

• 


153 

originating  in  malice  or  revenge,  or  arising  from  petty  quar- 
rels or  litigations,  when  the  whole  consideration  at  issue  is 
not  worth  a  shilling.  Yet  it  is  in  such  cases  that  the  awful 
name  of  the  divine  Being  is  formally  pronounced,  and  God  is 
appealed  to  as  a  witness  to  those  transactions  as  matters  of  the 
highest  moment,  in  his  holy  sight,  and  yet  of  such  a  nature 
that  every  honest  man  would  blush  to  be  concerned  in  them  5 
and  all  this  swearing  is  done  on  that  book  too,  in  which  he  has 
commanded  to  *«  sivear  not  at  alU  neither  by  Heaven,  nor  by  tht 
earth" — '*  nor  by  any  other  oath.  !  .'** 

By  such  proceedings,  it  is  altogether  impossible  that  the 
surrounding  audience  should  not  be  corrupted  ;  that  a  proper 
reverence  for  the  sacred  name  of  God,  should  not  be  gradually 
lessened,  or  lost,  and  profanity  encouiagcd.  Yea,  it  is  here 
that  our  youth  are  often  defiled  :  the  sacred  name  of  God  im- 
perceptibly steals  upon  the  tongue,  and  they  become  adepts  in 
profanation,/ro7Ji  lessons  Jirst  taught  them  at  the  bar  of  justice  1 ! 


5.  OF  WAR. 

«  Te  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said,  an  eye  for  an  eye^ 
and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth:  but  I  say  unto  you^  that  ije  resist  not 
evil;  but  whosoever  shall  smite  thee  on  the  right  cheeky  turn 
to  him  the  other  also.  And  if  any  man  will  sue  tJiee  at  law,  and 
take  away  thy  coat,  let  him  have  thy  cloak  also.  And  whosoever 
shall  compel  thee  to  go  a  mile,  go  with  him  twain,  give  to  him  that 
which  he  asketh  thee,  and  from  him  that  would  borrow  of  thee, 
turn  not  thou  away.  Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said,  thou 
shall  love  thy  neighbour  and  hate  thine  enemy  ;  but  I  say  unto 
•yofUf  love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you  ;  do  good  to 
them  that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  that  despitefuUy  use  you, 
and  persecute  you,  thai  you  may  be  the  children  of  your  Father 
which  is  in  Heaven,  For  he  maketh  the  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil 
and  on  tlm  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust. 
For  if  ye  love  them  that  love  you,  what  reward  have  you?  Do 
not  even  the  publicans  the  same  ?  And  if  ye  salute  your  brethren 
only,  what  do  you  more  than  others  ?  Do  not  even  the  publicans 
so  ?  Be  ye  therefore  perfect,  even  as  your  Father  which  is  in 
Heaven  is  perfect," 

The  above  is  an  abrogation  not  only  of  the  paena  talionis, 
or  a  requital  of  injuries  in  the  same  kind,  as  established  among 
the  Jews,  but  of  every  species  of  retaliation  or  resentment 
whatever ;  in  confirmation  whereof,  this  <'  Wonderful  Counsel- 
lor" has  left  us,  in  his  own  conduct  **  an  example  that  we 
should  follow  his  steps,  &c.  who,  when  he  was  reviled,  rt' 
viled  not  again;  when  he  suffered,  he  threatened  not ;  but  com- 
mitted himself  to  him  that  Judgeth  righteously.*'  1  Peter  ii.  %i, 
23,  V 


194 

The  Apostles  and  primitive  Christians  for  the  first  300 
years,  taught  the  same  precepts,  and  followed  the  example 
which  their  divine  Lord  and  master  had  set  them,  both  as  it 
regards  war  and  the  use  of  oaths,  as  I  have  before  shown.  The 
reader  will  find  these  facts  fully  confirmed  in  the  writings  of 
Justin  Martyr,  Tertullian,  Cyprian,  Origen,  Lactantius, 
Ambrose,  Chrysostom,  and  a  number  of  others.  1  he  Empe- 
ror Marc.  Aur.  Antonius,  about  160  years  after  Christ, 
writes  thus:  "  I  prayed  to  my  country  gods,  but  when  I  was 
neglected  by  them,  and  observed  myself  pressed  by  the  enemy, 
considering  the  fewness  of  my  forces,  1  called  to  one,  and  en- 
treated those  who  with  us  are  called  Christians^  and  1  found  a 
great  number  of  them,  and  I  forced  them  with  threats,  which 
ought  not  to  have  been,  because  afterwards  I  knew  their 
strength  and  force,  therefore  they  betook  themselves  7ieither  to 
the  use  of  darts  nor  trumpets,  for  they  used  not  so  to  do^for  the 
cause  and  name  of  their  God,  which  they  bear  in  their  conscience.^' 
Justin  Martyr  informs  us  that  when  required  to  fight,  the  an- 
swer of  the  Christians  was,  "  we  fight  not  with  our  enemies  :'* 
and  Sulpitius  Severus,  300  years  after  Christ,  relates  the  an- 
swer of  Martin,  to  Julian  the  apostate,  **  J  am  a  soldier  of 
Christ,  therefore  1  cannot  fight."  Cyprian  in  his  epistle  to  Do- 
natus,  says  :  <»  when  a  single  murder  is  committed,  it  shall  be 
deemed  perhaps  a  crime,  but  tiiat  crime  shall  commence  a 
virtue,  when  committed  under  the  shelter  of  public  authority, 
80  that  punishment  is  not  rated  by  the  measure  of  guilt,  but 
the  more  enormous  the  size  of  the  wickedness  is,  so  much  the 
greater  is  the  chance  of  impunity."  Lactantius  says  :  «<  It  can 
never  be  lawful  for  a  righteous  man  to  go  to  war,  whose  war- 
fare is  in  righteousness  itself."  *'  No  exception  can  be  made 
with  respect  to  this  command  of  God.  It  can  never  be  lawful 
to  kill  a  man,  whose  person  the  Divine  Being  designed  to  be 
sacred  as  to  violence."  In  short,  that  the  primitive  Chris- 
tians, along  with  the  apostles,  renounced  war  in  every  shape, 
adopting  the  precepts  and  example  of  the  great  head  of  the 
church,  is  as  well  attested  as  any  other  historical  fact. 

It  is  not  my  design  to  enter  here  into  a  lengthy  disquisition 
on  the  subject  of  war.  If  you  will  not  believe  Christ  and  his 
disciples,  you  «  will  not  be  convinced  although  one  should 
rise  from  the  dead."  War  must  be  viewed  as  an  anti-christian 
practice,  until  it  can  be  shown  that  to  love  our  enemies,  and 
to  hate  and  destroy  them,  are  equivalent  terms  ;  that  the  wea- 
pons of  Christians  are  not  carnal,  whilst  warring  with  guns  and 
spears ;  that  you  are  crucifying  the  flesh  with  the  lusts  there- 
of, whilst  engaged  in  outward  wars,  which  proceed  "  from 


1,^5 

your  lusts  ;"  that  in  thus  fighting,  you  prove  yourselves  to  be 
of  that  kingdom  which  is  not  of  this  world,  and  subjects  of  that 
king  whose  servants  do  notjight:  that  whilst  you  are  murdering 
your  enemies,  you  are  not  giving  place  unto  wrath,  but  return- 
ing '*  good  for  evil,"  and  obeying  the  command  of  Christ,  "  If 
thine  enemy  hunger,  feed  him  ;  if  he  thiist,  give  him  drink  ;" 
in  short,  that  whilst  you  are  practising  all  the  cunning  devices, 
and  stratagems  of  war,  you  are  walking  in  the  paths  of  simpli- 
city and  truth ;  exercising  patience  and  forbearance  whilst 
glutting  your  vengeance,  and  bearing  your  cross  whilst  kil- 
ling your  fellow  creatures  ! ! ! 

There  is  no  passion  more  difficult  to  subdue, more  tenaeeous  of 
life,  than  revenge.  No  lesson  so  hard  to  learn  as  that  of  for- 
giveness of  injuries:  and  hence  the  efforts  of  man  to  avoid  the 
way  of  the  cross  in  this  point,  this  essential  part  of  the  Gospel 
system.  Thus,  as  reasons  in  favour  of  war,  we  are  told  that 
the  Israelites  made  war  on  their  enemies,  as  if  Christian  were 
yet  under  the  law.  That  self-defence  is  the  first  law  of  na- 
ture,  as  if  it  was  not  the  whole  business  of  religion  to  subject 
and  bring  our  corrupt  natures  under  the  grace  and  spirit  of 
God  :  that  John  did  not  condemn  war  when  the  soldiers  came 
to  him,  as  if  John  was  to  be  our  rule  and  guide,  and  not 
Christ,  &c. 

In  your  Confession  of  Faith,  ch.  xxiii.  2.  it  is  said  that 
*'  Christians  may  lawfully  now  under  the  New  Testament, 
wage  war  upon  just  and  necessary  occasions  ;"  and  the  Pres- 
byterian Parliament  decreed,  as  I  have  before  stated,  that  such 
as  questioned  the  soundness  of  this  doctrine  should  be  imjmson' 
ed. 

Now  who  is  to  decide  what  shall  constitute  a  <<just  and 
necessary  occasion"  for  war  ?  Fallible  men  :  the  party  imme- 
diately interested  !  The  Israelites  were  forbidden  to  fight  only 
when  God  commanded.  Do  Christians  wait  for,  or  seek  after 
the  will  or  command  of  God  before  they  go  to  war  ?  Far  from 
it.  If  they  had  done  this,  there  never  had  been  any  fighting  in 
Christendom. 

Wars  deemed  the  most  jwsf,  have  been  as  often  unsuccessful 
as  otherwise  :  and  on  the  contrary,  those  pronounced  the  most 
wicked  and  iniquitous,  have  often  been  attended  with  prosperity 
and  success.  The  opinions  of  men,  therefore,  form  no  criterion 
to  decide  on  the  case.  But  let  us  examine  this  subject  as  it 
presents  in  practice;  for  doctrines  are  best  tested  by  their 
fruits.  Let  us  suppose  the  question  of  war  under  the  conside- 
ration of  the  rulers  of  some  Christian  nation  ;  an  awful  questio 
because  involving,  perhaps,  the  lives  of  a  million  of  poor  unr 


156 

generate  sinners !   What  is  the  course  taken  ?    The  heathens 
performed  many  superstitious  rites,  to  discover  the  will  of  hea- 
ven, or  propitiate  its  favour.     The  Jews  inquired  by  Urim,  or 
by  Thuromim,  or  at  the  Oracle  of  God,  to  discover  his  will  in 
such  an  important  case.     How  is  this  question  determined  by 
Christians?  Interest  or  policy  turns  the  scale.  Neither  the  fa- 
vour nor  the  frowns  of  heaven,  nor  the  lives  of  a  million  of 
souls,  nor  the  cries  of  the  widow  or  the  orphan,  weigh  a  fea- 
ther in  the  scale,  against  these  two  words.     War  is,  therefore, 
declared  ;    and  now  we  see  the   priests,    the  ministers,  the 
professed  teachers  of  that  gospel  which  was  ushered  into  the 
world  by  "  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host,  saying.  Glory 
to  God  in  the  highest,  peace  on  earth,  and  good  will  towards 
men."    We  behold  this  order  of  men  active  on  the  stage.   They 
are,  no  doubt,  a  strong  phalanx  on  the  side  of  peace — they 
preach  the  Apostolic  doctrine,  that  "  the  weapons  of  the  Chris- 
tians' warfare  are  not  carnal** — that  ♦»  wars  and  fightings  come 
from  our  lusts*^ — They  cite  the  commands  of  our  Lord  :  *'  for- 
give injuries" — "  love  your  enemies"—**  return  good  for  evil." 
Be  not  mistaken  :  interest  and  policy  weigh  as  heavy  in  the 
modern  balance  of  the  priesthoods  as  in  that  of  statesmen. 
Hence  even  from  the  pulpit,  we  hear  the  sound  of  war  !  war ! 
The  civil  rulers  have  declared  war  to  be  '<  just  and  necessary." 
The  theologically  educated  ministers  reiterate  it  to  the  people, 
and  declare  that  the  God  of  battles  is  with  them  ;  armies  are 
raised  on  both  sides,  and  prepare  for  the  bloody  conflict ! 

It  will  readily  be  admitted  that  the  individuals  composing 
an  army,  are,  generally  speaking,  of  all  men  the  least  prepared 
for  death.  To  be  convinced  of  this  truth,  we  need  only  enter 
a  camp.  Here  vice  presents  itself  in  every  shape,  and  assumes 
all  its  hideous  deformities.  There  are,  no  doubt,  here  and 
there,  not  a  few,  even  in  an  army,  who  form  exceptions  to 
these  remarks ;  but  a  camp  is  such  an  efficient  school  of  vice, 
that  these  are,  in  a  short  time,  overwhelmed  by  the  force  of 
example,  and  the  enticing,  and  even  coerciye  means  that  are 
used  by  their  profligate  companions,  to  corrupt  and  amalgamate 
them.  Such  then  are  the  materials  of  a  CAmfia?!  army;  brought 
together,  and  trained  to  the  art  of  war,  for  war  with  Christians 
is  an  art,  or  rather  it  is  reduced  to  a  science. 

W^  now  behold  two  opposing  hosts  in  the  presence  of  each 
other.  One  more  act  performed,  and  the  **  dreadful  note  of 
preparation"  is  finished,  and  that  is  to  address  the  God  of  battles : 
for  the  Christian's  God,  it  seems,  is  like  the  gods  of  Homer,  fond 
of  carnal  warfare,  **  cruel,  partial,  and  tivjust.^'  Now  are  seen 
throughoat  the  two  camps,  men,  styled  ministers  of  the  gospel. 


157 

on  the  bended  knee,  offering  up  prayers  to  heaven  for  victory 
Baptists  praying  against  Baptists ;  Episcopalians  against  Epis- 
copalians; Presbyterians  against  Presbyterians;  approaching 
the  throne  of  grace  and  presenting  opposite  and  contradictory 
petitions  to  Almighty  God  ;  thus  making,  if  it  were  possible,  a 
party  to  their  murderous  quarrels,  that  Being  who  « is  of  purer 
©yes  than  to  behold  iniquity." 

The  following  prayer,  adapted  to  such  an  occasion  as  this, 
is  found  in  William  Law's  address  to  the  clergy :  ♦»  O  blessed 
Jesus,  dear  redeeming  Lamb  of  God,  who  comest  down  from 
heaven  to  save  men's  lives,  and  not  destroy  them,  go  along,  we 
humbly  pray  thee,  with  our  bomb-vessels  and  fire-ships,  sufler 
not  our  thundering  cannon  to  roar  in  vain,  but  let  thy  tender 
hand  of  love  and  mercy  direct  their  balls  to  more  heads  and 
hearts  of  thine  own  redeemed  creatures,  than  the  poor  skill  of 
man  is  able  of  itself  to  do." 

Now  the  battle  commences.  It  is  kill  or  le  killed.  All  the 
diabolical  passions  are  up — but  I  avoid  details  ;  a  field  of  battle 
is  a  Pandemenium — a  hell  upon  earth.  After  some  hours,  some- 
times days,  one  side  gives  way,  and  the  other  advances  in  pur- 
suit ;  the  battle  is  won,  and  we  now  behold  the  fruits  of  your 
doctrine,  that  war  is  lawful.  The  field  of  battle  is  drenched 
with  human  blood,  and  thickly  strewed  with  the  wounded,  the 
dying  and  the  dead  ! !  From  ten  to  fifty  thousand  have  often  in 
this  manner  been  hurried  before  the  dread  tribunal  of  Almighty 
God,  "  with  all  their  imperfections  on  their  heads  ;"  and  I  leave 
you  to  calculate  how  many  millions  have  been  thus  despatched* 
since  the  Westminster  Confession  has  been  in  operation. 

But  the  work  is  not  yet  completed.  A  grand  te  deum,  or 
thanksgiving  remains  to  be  said  or  sung  for  the  glorious  victory  ; 
and  I  offer  the  following  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  your  clergy. 
«  We  thank  thee,  thou  Preserver  of  men  ;  thou  who  hast  com- 
manded us  to  forgive  our  enemies,  and  to  love  them,  and  pray 
for  them ;  we  thank  thee  that  thou  hast  this  day  nerved  our 
arms  in  battle,  and  thus  enabled  us  to  cut  off  from  this  proba- 
tionary state,  fifty  thousand  of  our  fellow-creatures,  and  to  send 
them  to  that  placp  prepared  for  unregenerated  sinners.  We 
praise  thee  who  didst  send  thy  beloved  Son  into  this  world  *'  to 
call  sinners  to  repentance,"  and  who  declared  that  he  "  came 
not  to  destroy  men*s  lives,  but  to  save  them" — to  him  we  ascribe 
the  honour  and  the  glory  of  this  victory  :  it  is  he  who  has  guided 
our  balls,  and  pointed  our  swords  to  the  heads  and  hearts  of 
those  whom  he  came  to  save  ! — "  And  now  we  intercede  on  be- 
half of  those  of  our  brethren  who  have  fallen  by  our  side,  fight- 
ing in  thy  glorious  cause,  with  carnal  weapons ; — are  not  these 


158 

thine  elect  ?*  Justify  them,  therefore,  according  to  thine  eternal 
decree;  they  have  kept  owr  faith;  grant  them,  therefore,  *a 
crown  of  righteousness.' " 

Such  are  the  shocking  inconsistencies  involved  in  wars, 
and  fightings,  both  in  theory  and  practice.  They  are  the 
offspring  of  our  lusts,  and  our  resentments,  and  these  can  have 
no  existence  where  the  glorious  gospel  spirit  prevails.  The 
man  who  yields  to  their  impulse,  creates  a  hell  in  his  own  bo- 
som ;  and  instead  of  submitting  his  "  cause  to  God,  who  judgeth 
righteously f^"*  takes  it  into  his  own  hands,  depends  on  the  arm  of 
flesh,  and  is  therefore,  accursed.  But  it  is  asked,  shall  not  a 
man  defend  himself  and  his  rights  ?  I  answer,  the  Christian 
has  no  country  short  of  heaven  ;  he  is  but  a  sojourner  here  be- 
low, and  as  to  right,  he  knows  none.  He  feels  that  all  he  hath 
is  of  and  from  God  alone.  His  life,  his  health,  and  his  every 
blessing  is  in  the  hands  of  his  Creator,  whose  right  therefore  it 
is  to  continue  them  unto  him,  or  to  take  them  from  him,  either 
immediately  or  instrumentally  as  he  may  see  meet ;  in  which  it 
is  his  duty  to  submit,  believing  that  he  who  has  numbered  the 
hairs  of  his  head,  if  faithfully  served,  will  cause  every  occur- 
rence, every  dispensation  to  work  together  for  good  to  him,  and 
all  those  who  love  God,  and  obey  him. 

*  Russel  in  his  Mod.  Eur.  vol.  iii.  p.  413,  states,  that  after  the  lost  battle  of 
Dunbar,  "  the  Covenanters  reproacfied  their  God  with  the  slaughteb  of  his 
xiECT,  and  with  DEGEiviNe  thetn  by  false  revelations.'!!" 


flNIS. 


THE  READER  IS  REqUESTED  TO  CORRECT  THE  FOLLOWING 

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PROPOSALS,  ^f 


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11 


BY  llOBEBT  PORTEK  WlLMLYGTOJ^r. 
JOSEPH  RAKEHTUAW,  Frmter. 

NO.  256,  NORTH  THIRD  STRRET, 

l'HII.\IISI.PHIA, 

FOR  REPUBLISHING  BY  SUBSCRIPTION, 

^m  y\ni  WW) fM ^55)  ^ 


OF 


PAUL  AXB  AMICUS, 

AS  PUBLISHED   IN  THE  CHRISTIAN  REPOSITORY. 


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IT  is  perhaps  scarcely  necessai'y  to  premise,  that  this  interesting  discussion 
commenced  so  far  back  as  the  early  part  of  1821,  witii  an  Essay  over  the  sig- 
nature of  "Paci,"  (in  the  Chhistiam-  RisrostTOKy)  charging  the  Society  of 
Friends  with  holding  doctrines  aud  practices  inimical  to  the  principles  of  the 
■  Gospel,  -■*  contained  in  the  Scriptur  -:;  of  the  Old  and  New  Testarnent.  These 
charges  were  ably  met,  by  another  writer  over  the  signature  of  "  Asnecs." 
Seldom  have  the  productions  of  aaouymous  writers  excited  a  more  lively  inte- 
rest  than  have  these  of  "Paul"  and  "Amicus,"  especially  among  Presbyte- 
rians and  Friends. 

No  sooner  had  the  discussion  commenced  in  the  Kepositoky,  than  the  de- 
mand for  the  paper  began  to  increase,  and  continued  increasing,  until  in  six 
mo  'ths,  all  the  spare  numbers,  (which  were  considerable)  wer^  taken  up ;  and 
still  a  demand  for  more — this  induced  an  early  determination  to  reprJht  the 
whole,  when  brought  to  a  close.  Which  period  having  now  arrived,-  we  still 
feel  incUned  to  gratify  the  public,  by  laying  before  them  these  important 
Essays  at  a  veiy  moderate  price,  in  a  form  which  may  be  conveniently  read 
and  preserved,  until  time  shall  have  tested  their  truth  or  fallacy. 

This  work  will  be  printed  on  a  new  tvpe,  fine  durable  paper,  in  one  8vo. 
Vol.  containing  about  500  pages,  executed  hi  the  modern  style,  under  the  " 
immediate  insptrtion  of  the  Authors,  without  note  or  alteration,  fiirtbc"r  than 
literal  corrections. 

PHicB—Tfc  Si.vicribers,  gl   50  in  boards.     To  non-subscribers,  jg'^  00,, 
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